


Defect

by Asazake



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Denial of Feelings, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, Family Issues, Hurt/Comfort, Implied abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Marking, Mentions of Suicide, No mpreg, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omegaverse, Rating May Change, Violence, abusive childhood, donatello is bad at feelings, kinda slowburn, leotello, mentions of mpreg, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:00:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 51,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29610480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asazake/pseuds/Asazake
Summary: As an orphan living in an unloving adoptive family, Leo craved for affection in which he found later in his brothers. On the other hand, Donnie never really knew what he wanted, and meeting Leo was his saving grace. Years later, everything changed as the brothers present one by one.
Relationships: Donatello/Leonardo (TMNT), Michelangelo/Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 84





	1. Boundaries and Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> I've sworn not to make another omegaverse AU fic, but here I am... anyway,  
> In the first few chapters, I'll be building the relationship between the turtles and the omegaverse-y dynamics won't be very apparent until the third chapter or so. The first two chapters are more about Donnie and Leo's backgrounds on how they ended up in a family together rather than the main plot of the story. 
> 
> Anyways, RATING WILL CHANGE!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The omegaverse plot starts on the third chapter. Feel free to skip.

Everything in Leonardo’s life had been satisfactory, if you put aside the fact that he’d been an orphan his whole life, _very_ lacking economically, has both commitment and trust issues, and many other things that couldn’t be mentioned unless explained thoroughly. But besides all of that, he’s content. He always had a roof atop his head, food for his stomach, and clothes to fit into the society, as Splinter always told him. Oh, and also, tight, warm hugs from the two of his brothers, Mikey and Raph. They aren’t his biological brothers, but Leo had always seen them as his own blood.

Donatello, though, he’s a different case. Despite always calling him the same title as Mikey and Raph, Leo’s never thought of him as true brothers. Not that he doesn’t want to; he simply _couldn’t_. The thought of considering Donnie as someone related to him was almost repulsive in a way that you see your own lover as your sibling. Well, they’re not officially “lovers”, but Leo had been dreaming of being able to call them the l word for the past years that they’ve remained living together.

Their relationship has been very bumpy from the start thoroughly until the end. Leo was convinced that it’s due to their contrasting personalities compared to each other. The blue banded turtle was open about his own feelings, expressive, and free, meanwhile Donnie never lets anyone crack his shell, despite being a soft-shelled turtle. He’s very aware of the state of his own emotions, very logical about everything, due to the fact that he’s a self-proclaimed scientist, and the only thing they have in common is their similar sense of humor. Despite being a very serious and closed off individual, Donatello doesn’t always act like he has a stick up his ass. In fact, even at some point Splinter had called him the funny one, and it was something that Donnie took pride in.

The saying “opposites attract” is a bullshit through and through. To connect with someone, you must at least have somewhat of a decent number of similarities between each other, let alone creating a strong bond. Leo never believed in it anyways, but his own relationship with Donnie had slowly cracked that disbelief of his. Him and Donnie don’t always get along, but something in them had always kept them close towards each other, unwillingly attracting the two turtles together in a weird way. Maybe they’re similar in a different way that Leo had not known, who knows?

Their very bumpy and complex—an understatement— relationship started when Leo was a tiny turtle, barely eight years old. His understanding of the world around him was still very narrow, the eyes of his blinded by the thick tint of a rose-colored glass. His family was stable enough; he never starved, didn’t lack basic education, and he had “loving” parents, correction, **adoptive** ex-parents. It was obvious from the beginning anyways, him and his adoptive parents were different species of mutants. He was a red slider turtle and his adoptive parents were both lizards. Leo had always known that he’s different, he just convinced himself that it was all an imagination and that there must be an explanation behind their very distinct appearance.

His life was okay until his adoptive parents started screaming and yelling at each other on a daily basis. In the morning when they had breakfasts, in the afternoon when Leo was playing with his toys, and at night after they tucked him in bed. They were indeed decent parents, giving him all the essential things, he needed to live, but they were all just bare necessities. Like every other story, there’s one thing he lacked; affection.

Sure, they gave him hugs and kisses like what adults do to children, but almost every adult would do that to any children, related or not. Even as a child, Leo could tell that the affection he received from his parents felt forced, like they were convincing themselves that they loved him. He denied those thoughts away, doing the things his parents did to themselves that they indeed cared for him like their biological child. He’s always had a way with words, and ironically so, he managed to lie to himself.

When the arguments became so unbearable for him to listen, Leo found a way to escape by going to the playground near his home. Every time he asked for permission, his parents always replied with a dismissive tone, usually still angry from the argument in the morning or sometimes, when they even have arguments on the phone or over texts. Like any normal child, he’d leave the house excited and bubbly, but once he exited the place that he had once called home, his mask shattered. Still, he doesn’t want to bother his parents, or anyone, with his unnecessary emotions, so he picked the pieces of his shattered mask together and wore it over his face.

The playground was empty most of the time, since the environment around his home lacked the presence of kids his age and just children in general. The closest kids around his age that he’s seen around his home were either too young to be playing on the playground or too old and edgy to be found in one. It was frustrating; he was supposed to be socializing with other kids, but of course his parents were too busy fighting each other to care for their child’s social life. Obviously, Leo was never their priority.

He had friends in school, but they’re just exactly that. Friends in school. They never had things to do together outside of it. They all live far away, anyway.

Until one day, the playground that he’s always known as an abandoned place didn’t seem so abandoned anymore. When he came to the place with a heartache in his chest, it suddenly disappeared once he saw two other mutants playing with each other on the swing set. They looked so carefree and just _happy_. Both of them seemed like they didn’t carry the burden of their parents’ lies, deception, and fake affection. Emphasis on the “seemed”, since Leo knew that people lie as easily as they breathe. He learned it the hard way with he, himself, being the biggest liar that he’s ever known of.

The sound of his footsteps made the other mutants took notice of him, and they both looked at Leo like he was a Christmas gift. No one has ever looked at him that way before; not even his parents. Why? He wondered, then he realized that the mutants looked awfully similar to him. They both had shells, except the bigger mutant had spiky ones, meanwhile the other mutant had one like his, just smaller. 

The bigger one was scary, he noted, and the smaller one looked like he wouldn’t step on an ant. What a contrast. He approached them slowly, sitting on the swing next to them with a timid, shy smile. The smaller one was the one sitting on the swing while the other helped him push, so the first one to make a conversation with Leo was the smaller one.

“Hi, I’ve never seen you around before,” he chirped excitedly, showing a bright smile that Leo was sure he could never pull off. “what’s your name?” Although the big one seemed scary at first, the closer Leo observed him, the softer he looked. He was probably shy, nodding at every word the small one said. 

Leo settled his hands on the chains of the swing set, nervously rubbing his fingers against the cold metal. “I’m Leonardo, but— but everyone calls me Leo.” Was that too intimate? Too fast? He couldn’t have guessed.

“Nice to meet ya’, Leo! This is Raphael.” The small one pointed at the one, apparently, named Raphael. “And I’m Michelangelo. You can call us Raph and Mikey!” Those last words had relieved Leo from his worries. He’s glad that he was just overthinking instead of being too friendly for comfort.

Confused with the jumbled words in his head, Leo kept silent and gave away an awkward smile, nodding slowly. The other turtles didn’t seem to mind, as they kept swinging on the swing set. “Are you new?” Mikey asked as his eyes drifted away to the distance, enjoying the breeze of the wind.

“No, I’m not.” Leo simply said. He was careful not to overshare. “Are _you_ new? This playground is always empty, usually.”

“No, we play here very often,” Raph finally spoke, he sounded and looked way older than them, so it spiked up his nervousness a bit. “We usually play in the evening, before dinner.” He added.

Oh, that’s why. “I never came in the evening,” Leo started swinging too, his feet dangling above the dusty ground. “what made you guys come here now?”

“Pops gave us a day off from the dojo!” Mikey exclaimed, and Raph nodded fondly. “It’s so exciting because we’re planning to go to the arcade after this.”

The dojo? What’s a “dojo”?

Apparently, the confusion on his face was very clear, to the point that Raph started speaking again. “It’s a place where we learn ninjutsu. Fighting, basically.” The grin on his face was obviously showing pride, well, what kind of child wouldn’t be proud of their fighting skills? Not everyone, but Leo was certain that he would be very happy to show off some moves like the ones he saw in movies.

“That’s—that’s so cool!” Leo exclaimed, his eyes sparkling in amazement. 

“I know right.” Mikey was holding himself from boasting as he jumped off the swing set. “We can do things like...” he paused, going into a stance that seemed martial arts-y. “Boom! Pow! Bam!!!” The punches and kicks he threw were far from perfect or even decent, but Leo watched him with astonishment anyway.

Leo clapped his hand, “Can Raph do that too?” If Mikey could do that, he wondered if Raph could do something like bending metals or anything flashy.

“Raph can break wood planks! With his bare hands!” The embarrassment on Raph’s face bloomed once Mikey showed off his ability. 

“Wow... I wish I can do that.” The tone of Leo’s voice softened. There’s no way that his parents are going to pay for him to learn. It’s not essential, and Leo’s been provided with plenty of essential things. He doesn’t want to put another burden on their shoulders.

The turtles stared at Leonardo for a while, and they gave each other knowing glances. “You can come to our dojo.” Raph smiled, “I’m sure dad wouldn’t mind another turtle.”

Leo bit his lip, “I don’t know guys...”

“You’ll be fine,” Mikey gleefully skipped away from the swing set to the playground exit, Raph following closely behind him. “come on Leo! Last one is a stinky egg~” he teased.

Despite the churn of anxiety in his stomach, Leo stood up to follow the turtles.

It was only a seven-minute walk from the playground to the dojo. They stood in front of a wooden, Japanese styled fence, which hid the dojo from sight. Once he settled his eyes on the rickety, rotting wooden fence, the hesitance in his chest grew larger. The place seemed shady. He tried to cover up the strain in his expression with the other two turtles smiling brightly at him. 

“This is the place?” Leo hoped they’re going to say no.

“Yep!” They confirmed in unison. _Shit,_ Leo thought. His parents usually use that word when there’s something bad happening.

Raph pushed the fence open, revealing what seemed like a garden, or what’s supposed to be a garden, at least. It was full of garbage bags in the corners, the plants wilting away from the lack of nourishment, the dirt dry and cracking, and the stepping stones towards the building were mossy. Leo cringed at the sight of it, but he tried his best to hide it. He’s so glad he trained to cover up his real emotions at home, or else he’d probably be hurting his friends’ feelings now.

The state of the building was worse. The Japanese styled building had rotting woods everywhere, he was sure it’d collapse once he stepped his foot into the dojo. It was moldy, and it smelled like stale bread. He inhaled slowly, watching Mikey and Raph jump around the stepping stones, making sure to avoid the slippery moss. He followed behind, just not as excited as the others were.

When he ascended up the stairway, he could hear the rickety sound of wood under him, due to his weight. Mikey saw him hesitating and turned his head to smile at Leo, “Don’t worry it’s safe!”

“Yep, I know.” Leo stepped up again, less careful this time. Once he arrived in front of the sliding doors, Raph and Mikey nodded at each other. 

They slid the door open to reveal a somewhat decently clean empty room with straw mats as floors and paper walls. It was fine, Leo thought. Compared to the garden and the outside appearance of the dojo, it was decent. Inside, there was a small figure putting what he assumed to be fighting equipment back to their places. Their presence alerted the figure, and they turned their heads towards the turtles. They were a rat, Leo was sure. He’d seen a couple of rat mutants here and there around town, although not very often.

“Master Splinter, look what we brought back!” Mikey approached the rat, jumping up and down excitedly. “Another one like us!”

The rat appeared unimpressed by Mikey’s attitude, smacking him behind the head. “Where is your greeting, orange?” He asked with thick Japanese accent coating his voice. Leo couldn’t quite recognize the accent though. He knew it was foreign, he just couldn’t specifically name it.

“Owie...” Mikey sniffed, getting back in line to stand next to Raph and Leo. “Greetings, Master Splinter.” He bowed down with Raph, and Leo awkwardly followed, albeit missing a beat.

The rat stroked his chin, observing the red slider turtle before him. Leo anxiously grinned, smelling a stench of body odor from the rat. “Who have you brought back, my sons?” 

“He wants to learn ninjutsu!” The bigger turtle tapped the back of Leo’s shell, a little bit too strong, he almost fell forward on his face. He seemed like the type to not recognize his own strength, so Leo wasn’t mad. “Oops—” Raph winced, but the other just nodded.

“Ah, no, I don’t have the money.” It was true, he was sure his parents wouldn’t pay for such a trivial thing. “I just wanna, you know, watch.” 

Splinter then glared at his two sons, “Then why did you bring him here?!”

The two flinched, but not in a way that they’re terrified. “Come on pops, he just wants to watch.” Raph whined, giving puppy eyes.

Worried that he might get kicked out, Leo’s lips stretched into a wide, awkward smile and his eyes met Splinter’s narrow ones. He was observing the turtle, judging him as he looked up and down. His scowl seemed like it wasn’t about to turn into a smile any time soon, but his shoulders seemed to relax a bit shortly after. 

He groaned, “Fine. But just watch, no learning.”

 _Stingy._ But whatever, Leo was in no position to judge anyone. It wasn’t his dojo anyways.

Since then, he always came there after school and on day offs. His parents never noticed it anyway, letting him do whatever he wanted to do as long as he came back before dinner. At first, he’d just watch Mikey and Raph—and sometimes other students of the dojo, as few as they are— train their ninjutsu skills, but one time, he got curious and grabbed a wooden sword, apparently called _bokken_. He swung the sword around, not knowing what he was supposed to do with it, but the images of the other students of the dojo was at the back of his mind.

He remembered the form, the movements, and copied them. His body moved so naturally with the bokken in his hands, it felt so easy and without realizing it, he was smiling. It all flew like a calming river stream, his movements connected and graceful, every step he took was never wasteful. He kept it up after a few minutes when Splinter saw him holding the wooden sword. 

He gasped, dropping the sword to the ground immediately to bow at the short rat mutant. The mutant didn’t seem to dislike whatever he was doing, but Leo apologized anyways, since he promised that he wouldn’t do any learning. Instead of getting berated by the master of the dojo, he was told to pick up his bokken, and he couldn’t be happier to do so. 

Then, he started learning with the other students, including Mikey and Raph. Not only that he learned many ninjutsu skills, he also learned many things about the other two turtles. Like the fact that they’re adoptive brothers. The word “adoptive” stung his chest. Ever since he had suspicions about him and his parents, the word felt very sensitive to him.

Despite that, he listened to Mikey and Raph’s story attentively, picking up every detail they told him. Apparently, Raph was the only turtle that Splinter had picked up from the orphanage, since he had no children to continue the Hamato name. Then, two years later, he found Mikey as a three weeks old baby at the side of the road, inside of a cardboard box. He was abandoned. Literally.

Hearing Michelangelo’s story made Leo’s heart clench, he had talked about it like it was nothing, but the faint pain in his voice was audible to Leo’s ears. They both had been abandoned, and they found comfort in each other, supporting themselves in whatever circumstances they face. They also consider themselves brothers, but something in their eyes when they look at one another seemed to hide a little secret. Leonardo shrugged it off, it wasn’t his problem.

Meeting Mikey and Raph felt like it was destiny. Because if he was actually abandoned, then he’d be able to confide in them, and they could protect each other. They made him feel at ease, and it wasn’t long until they grew so close that he’d stay over at their small apartment not far from the dojo. Their apartment was cramped, especially with Raph’s big body that grew larger than kids their age. It was fine, though. Leo liked cuddling with the two other turtles; they were warm and loving. He felt perfect and wanted, although sometimes Splinter would mutter things like wasting money on another mouth to feed, he was sure it’s just a habit of his, nothing too serious.

The day Mikey accidentally called him brother was the day Leo’s heart melted, the day his mask of people pleaser personality shattered completely with no signs of coming back together. He broke down in front of the turtles, receiving hugs and kisses from his two “brothers”. They were his dictionary definition of love.

A year passed since Leo met Mikey and Raph and one night, his parents’ argument was so loud that he couldn’t fall asleep. He should’ve stayed at his brother’s place, he thought. The smell of moldy walls and sounds of leaking pipes were better than the screams of his parents. The warmth and love he received there were enough to make up all the uncomfortable things in the cramped apartment.

But here, in the comfortable, wide bed of his, he felt cold. Cold, and empty, and most importantly, unwanted. A burden.

“I should’ve never agreed to taking that kid! He’s not making our relationship any better!” His dad shouted, and his ears picked up. Slowly, he sat up on his bed to listen better. His stomach twisted when he heard that he was mentioned. 

“You were the one that _blamed_ me for not being able to have kids!” His mom was crying, her sobs were heart breaking. But the reason Leo’s heart actually broke wasn’t because of his mom’s cries. It’s what they said about him.

They confirmed that he wasn’t their biological child. 

Leo wanted to give himself excuses and reasons, but the evidence was there, right in front of his face. He sighed, walking up to the door and peek through the small crack of his door. “Well, you fucking said that adopting a kid would make up for it. And it didn’t! Now we can’t even divorce easily!” The loud volume of his dad’s voice picked up.

“I never said it would _fix_ our relationship! I said if we are able to share love with our child, it would help us get better eventually.”

“AND IT DIDN’T! I can’t love him, he’s not of my own blood, Mary.” He paused, huffing a long, exasperated breath. “And I know you don’t either.”

Leo was at the brink of crying, the only thing holding him together was the memory of Mikey and Raph’s faces. 

“What are we supposed to do then.” His mom stopped crying, clearly worn out by the arguments. She sounded calmer, but it was obvious that she wasn’t. “If we split now, I can’t take the kid. I can’t. He’s gonna remind me of all of this.”

The expression of his dad’s face turned into distaste. “Well, I can’t either. The orphanage he goes, then.”

It wasn’t until he was standing in front of his parents that Leo realized what he was doing. The two adults’ eyes widened at the sight of the red slider turtle, their faces paling as they stared down at him. Leo’s appearance remained neutral, showing no emotions whatsoever. The parents shared a look of concern, and the mom forced a halfhearted smile at him.

“Hi, honey, you’re not asleep—”

“I can stay at Master Splinter’s home, if you want.” Leo deadpanned, cutting his mom off. 

The brows, or at least the brow ridges, of his parents furrowed once he spoke. “What do you mean, Leo?” The dad asked, his head slightly tilting.

“I heard everything.” Leo put on a smile, “If you don’t want me, just drop me at Master Splinter’s home. I’ll be fine.”

The parents shared a look again, seeming like they were empaths. They looked at him for a second in silence, calculating, considering. That’s the thing that adults do a lot, which Leo disliked. The only adult who doesn’t do it often is Splinter, although Leo would sometimes consider the rat as a man-child, rather than an adult. But still.

“Master Splinter? The man that taught you neenjetshoo or something like that?” The mom asked, totally butchering the pronunciation of ninjutsu. 

Leo dipped his head. It’s fine, he’s always wanted to leave anyway. 

“Are you sure?” His dad seemed way too eager to be concerned about him. 

“Yep.” And with Leo’s confirmation, he was sure he’d stay with Raph and Mikey. As a child, he doesn’t understand how the system of adoption works, but he was sure that his parents would figure it out; it’s not their first time anyways. 

He was correct. After a few months, his parents legally divorced and his mom was granted the child custody, though he’ll be sent to Splinter’s home in the end. They somehow managed to make Splinter his legal guardian, despite him lacking economically. That human lawyer lady sure knows her way into the cracks and holes of this country’s laws. She looked very uptight though, Leo didn’t like the way she addressed Splinter; pointing at him like he’s an animal in a zoo. 

At first too, Splinter declined the offer. He was struggling to support Raph and Mikey as it is, especially since the students interested in the dojo are steadily decreasing over time. After all, ninjutsu isn’t something essential in life and almost everyone can survive their whole life without learning the martial art. The situation made Leo bite his nails, he was so sure that he’d be able to live with his brothers.

But his so-called dad was so itchy to get him out of his life that he was willing to send money to Splinter every month to cover his expenses. It was quite a large sum of money, so obviously Splinter had accepted. His parents were far from lacking, economically speaking, they had plenty of money to spare. Leonardo wasn’t concerned, not that he cared that much anymore.

The day Leo moved into the Hamato household, he was immediately greeted with a big, warm hug from Mikey and Raph. He almost broke down in tears when they ran up to him, but the urgency from Splinter for him to settle in pushed all the tears back into his eyes. He unpacked his things and settled for the spare room at the end of the hallway, the one that Mikey had always avoided due to his delusions of ghosts. 

At first, Leo was supposed to sleep with Mikey in the old room, but Mikey and Raph were inseparable, so Leo, as offended as he felt to be not wanted, understood the situation and moved in the empty room. The unused room was fairly spacious, at least for a turtle his size. The other room where Raphael slept in was significantly bigger due to his large body and the fact that they had to fit two beds into the room for Mikey.

Leonardo didn’t care though, he liked the room as it is, though it wasn’t as nice as the old room he had. It smelled damp in there, like someone had put wet laundries on the floor and let it dry there, while clearly, the windows are boarded up, preventing sunlight to enter. 

Leo sat on the edge of his queen-sized bed, the springs and feet of it creaking as he did. He needed a new bed soon, or it might collapse in his sleep. But it was a problem for another day. The first thing he had to do was making his room feel like it’s his, so he taped some posters of his favorite rock bands on the wall. He also changed the bedsheet into blue colored ones, his favorite color. The empty desk was soon filled with variations of action figures his parents had bought him in the past. Despite his efforts, the room still looked musty.

Whatever, he can customize it later. He laid down in the middle of the bed and drifted away to sleep.


	2. Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of suicide and depression.
> 
> Still a chapter to build up the background of their family.

Leonardo was eleven when he met Donatello. When Donnie first came to the dojo, he was accompanied with his mom, who seemed mentally unwell; she had the eyes of a broken person. How would Leo know, you ask? Well, he’s stared at his own eyes a couple of times in the past and they were similar to hers. Broken. And Donnie, he didn’t seem any better. He just managed to look less bothered by it.

Leo was doing some routines inside the dojo when he heard a car stop in front of the building. Splinter immediately walked out the dojo, and the three turtles were taken over with curiosity. They slid the door open carefully, not to alert Splinter of their presence. Through the small gap of the wooden door, they saw a mutant just like them; a turtle. 

He had jade green skin and clouded, dark eyes. His shell didn’t look like it was solid like the ones they had, especially Raph’s. It almost looked fleshy, soft and malleable, it made Mikey chuckle at the sight of it. Leo obviously scolded him, more to shut him up rather than because he had mocked the unknown turtle’s carapace. As they were distracted by Mikey’s antics, the softie—as Mikey called the unknown turtle— had stared at them from across the garden. They shivered once they realized that and backed up from the door to continue their routine. Except for Leonardo.

The red slider kept on staring, eyer boring into the softie’s raven-like eyes. He scowled, failing to scare Leonardo off, and he looked away as a slight tint of blush bloomed on his jade skin. Leo’s breath hitched; he never thought red could seem so pretty over that specific shade of green. He widened the gap on the door to see clearer, and the softie’s brow furrowed further, it almost touched in the middle of his big forehead. The sight made him grin, in which the other had perceived as mocking rather than being amused. 

Not long after, a female turtle mutant with similar shell appeared from behind the fence and held the softie’s hand as she dragged him across the garden to the dojo. Leo assumed that she was the softie’s biological mother. Must be nice, he thought, to have a mom that would hold his hand. Keeping him safe and loving him. The thought dispersed when he noticed the emptiness in the woman’s eyes.

Leo kept watching the turtles outside their dojo. Splinter waited for them in the middle of the garden where there was a table and chairs for them to sit on. The garden used to look like a forest, but when Splinter received money from Leo’s dad, he was able to renovate some parts of the dojo, specifically the garden. The wilting plants look healthier than ever, the stepping stones scrubbed from moss and other dirt, the vines and unruly weed trimmed, and they added some Japanese themed decorations to top it off. 

The woman sat in front of Splinter while the softie sat beside her, timidly following. His expression turned firm and strained once the adults started talking. It made Leo wonder about what they were talking about. The softie soon started to grip on the fabric of his pants on his thighs, clenching so hard under the table. His eyes wandered off to the ground, glazed with tears that were seconds away from falling down his face. However, when he noticed that Leo was still staring at him, he glared with the scariest gaze possible and looked back down.

Still, Leo wouldn’t budge from his position, his eyes locked on the softie outside. He had mixed feelings towards the turtle and he wasn’t quite sure on how he should handle it. He’s had crushed before towards some people, whether they’re mutants or humans, and it never felt like this. Usually crushing on other people made him feel all warm and fuzzy from the quickening heartbeat, but this one, this one made his stomach turn and twist like butterflies were flapping their wings inside. It also made his chest hurt as he clenched his chest, or rather, his plastron. 

Leonardo was quite popular in his school, with girls and boys crushing over him and his too charismatic of a persona. Not only that he was funny, he’s also very laid-back and had a pretty face. People easily swarm around him and his fun, relaxing personality; the vibes he gave off just attracted people towards him. And so, they often catch feelings due to Leo’s naturally charismatic persona, but he never seemed to return the feeling.

Now, it’s his turn to catch feelings.  


* * *

  
It wasn’t long until Leo saw the softie again, but this time, they met officially and not at the dojo. This time, he came into their apartment. He was dressed up in a formal attire, all black from the top to bottom. His eyes seemed darker than the first time Leo had seen him, about two months ago. The redness around his eyes was evident of the sleepless night he went through, and Leo couldn’t help but to feel sorry at him.

Splinter never really explained how he exactly became the softie’s legal guardian, but Leo knew that there must be money involved in it. The only thing Splinter said after the softie entered their home was, “Help purple settle in blue’s room.”

His heartbeat had quickened so fast, he was sure everyone in the room heard him. He tried to regain his composure, “Dad, who is this dude?”

“It’s Donatello.” The turtle squawked, angry with the nickname Splinter gave him. Leo wondered why he was called purple. With Raph and Mikey, red and orange had been their color codes since they were little. With Leo, it’s because his room and his wardrobe were so full of the color blue. But Donnie, he had no indications that he was associated with the color purple.

“Okay,” Raph joined in the conversation. “What’s this Donatello guy doin’ in our home?” Mikey was hiding behind the big turtle, reminded of the glare Donnie had given him in the past.

“He’s your brother starting today,” Splinter briefly said, before jumping onto the couch to watch TV. “Now help him settle!” Dismissively, he ordered. He was too preoccupied for other questions, so Leo just left it at that and grabbed one of Donnie’s very heavy bag.

He could feel the new turtle’s gaze burning into him as he walked to his room, and he looked right back at him, smiling. “I’m Leonardo. Call me Leo.” When he dropped the bag, a loud thump was heard, making him wince. “What’s in this bag? It’s so heavy.”

“You don’t need to know.” He grumpily said, unzipping the bag he had in his hand. Despite the rude attitude of the turtle, Leo didn’t mind it at all and shrugged.

“Hey! No need to be rude to my bro!” Mikey exclaimed from behind the door frame. Raph was still carrying more bags from the living room, so the smaller turtle had no choice but to hide anywhere else beside behind Raphael. Leo giggled at his little brother’s adorable attempt in defending him.

To reassure him, Leo gently placed his hand atop Mikey’s head and stroked it softly. “It’s fine Mikey, he’s had a rough day, I’m sure.” His eyes trailed off from Mikey to Donnie’s eyes which pierced through him again. He must be surprised that Leo was observant enough as a child that he knew about his circumstances.

“Hey, Don, this is Michelangelo.” Leo pats Mikey as he introduced him. “You can call him Mikey if you’d like. And that’s Raphael, or Raph, for short.” He said again as Raph entered the room to drop off the bags that belonged to Donnie. Leo assumed that Raph had a neutral feeling toward the new turtle, or at least he doesn’t dislike him as much as Mikey does.

Donnie nodded, “Sure,” and he went back to unpacking and scrambling around some stuff in his bags. 

Both Raph and Mikey looked at Leo, irritated with Donnie’s distant and cold attitude towards his new family. Leo bit his lip, finding the new guy amusing rather than irritating. He nodded towards his two brothers, giving a signal to leave him and Donnie alone for a moment. They immediately understood and left the room, closing the door slowly.

“So,” Leo chirped, jumping to sit on the creaky bed. “what made you come here?”

A sigh escaped Donnie’s lips, “Go ask your so-called dad. He would know.” Of course, he’s in a bad mood; Leo was sure he just attended the funeral of his parent. He turned his back on Leo, unbuttoning his jet-black blazer grumpily. 

Warmth raced towards his cheeks. “I’d rather hear it from you.” As Donnie pulled off the blazer off his shoulders, Leo noticed something through the almost translucent white shirt. “If you don’t wanna tell me now, it’s ok.”

A scoff. “It’s not important. I’m pretty sure you’ve figured it out.” This time, he took off his white long-sleeved shirt and Leonardo’s eyes widened at the purple marks across his shoulders. 

“Purple,” he blurted out.

Hearing the nickname, Donnie turned his head towards the slider and glared. “It’s Donatello.”

“No, uh, your shoulder.” 

Donatello’s cheeks burned bright red. He placed his hands over his shoulders to cover up the purple marks. “Stop looking at me, pervert.”

Leo gasped, “No, no, no, I have them too, in a different color,” he rolled up his long sleeves and showed the bright yellow stripes on his shoulders and biceps. “see?”

Wide eyed, Donnie looked at Leo for a minute before looking at the ground and continue changing his clothes. “We’re turtles. Having color marks on our bodies is a very normal thing.”

“Yeah, Raph doesn’t have it but Mikey does.” Leo rolled his sleeves back down. “It’s just that I figured out where Splinter color coded you.”

Donatello pulled his pants up, “Whatever. I don’t care.”

After changing his clothes, Donnie went back to focus on his bags again, full of books and equipment that were too complicated for Leo to understand. He watched silently from his bed, making mental notes of how many times Donnie had murmured things under his breath about things he found slightly inconvenient. It was cute. Leo never met anyone who’d act rude to him when he acted kindly towards them. The grumbles and silent grunts had escaped Donnie’s mouth so much that Leo lost count.

“So, did your parents abandon you too?”

The question made Donnie stop dead in his tracks. Leo was worried that he might be too forward, but he silently hoped that the other turtle would take the bait and finally talk to him. He didn’t. Shortly after, he resumed whatever it is that he was doing.

Leo raised an eyebrow ridge. “Did they stuff money on Splinter’s mou—”

“She killed herself.” Donnie’s gaze darkened, “Now will you shut up?”

That sure did make Leo shut his mouth. The bitter aftertaste of regret was lingering on his tongue; he shouldn’t have asked that. Falling silent, Leo twiddled his thumbs. He wanted to apologize, but he was sure that it would make the situation worsen. Donnie didn’t seem like he’s the type to talk about heart-to-heart things or whatever like that. If anything, Leo was sure he’d absolutely despise those kinds of talk. He was smart, Leo noted. The books he unpacked from his bags were and indication that he was on another level of intelligence. 

Soon enough, Donnie’s share of desk was filled with plenty of electronic stuff Leo couldn’t recognize. He also had books the thickness of an English dictionary resting on the wall shelves, going as far as invading Leo’s empty ones. He was about to protest until he remembered that he never brought his book back home from his locker at school. He quietly observed the other turtle again. He went back and forth between the pile of his bags and his desk, movements effective and quick. It reminded Leo of his ninjutsu training.

When his bag was finally empty, Donatello sighed out loud, wiping away the sweat on his forehead as his eyes pierced back towards Leo. “What?”

“Mm,” he mused, “nothing.” 

With a raised eyebrow, Donnie clicked his togue. “When’s my bed arriving?”

“Hm? Huh? Oh.” Leo was dazed out. “No more bed, it’s crowded enough in here.” Slowly, the hand that propped him up on the bed slid down along his body. “We share this bed.”

He was obviously unhappy from the way his already scowling mouth scowled further. “All that inheritance and he couldn’t buy me a new bed?”

Leonardo blinked at the word inheritance. “What inheritance?” Does it have anything to do with when Donnie first came to the dojo? Leo wanted to add, but kept silent.

“My mom, she trusted that stupid old man with the inheritance that’s supposed to me _mine_.” The emphasis on the last word was accompanied with a slight hiss. _Ooh, possessive much, Donnie?_

“I mean, my “dad”,” he made air quotes. “sends me money every month, quite a large amount too, and I never received any more than my pocket money.” He never cared about his dad’s money; Splinter could burn the money for all he cares. “I don’t need money as long as my family is there for me.”

“You can’t buy food with your family.” The skepticism in his voice was sharp. “Unless you sell them or their organs to the black market, that is.” The last sentence had been a murmur Leo chose to ignore. 

“Yeah, but you can’t buy love with money either.”

“Love isn’t essential for survival.” Donnie tapped his foot on the ground, annoyed with Leo’s attempt to outsmart him. “You can survive your whole life without love, but you can’t survive a week without water and a month without food.” He paused. “Also, you can die from hypothermia without clothes and a house.”

Leonardo shrugged, placing his hands on the back of his head as he leaned back to his bed. “I used to think like that too.” His eyes fluttered close, his mind going back to two years ago when he hasn’t met his brothers. “The home my parents— adoptive parents,” he corrected. “provided me was fine. They gave me essential things and bare necessities like food, home, clothes, and stuff. But they never granted me affection. They only adopted me to mend their toxic relationship, I think.”

Donnie tilted his head. “You don’t sound like an eleven-year-old.”

“Neither do you.” What Donnie had said to him made him roll his eyes. “Anyway, it sucked and I chose to live here. I’d rather sleep on a creaky bed rather than listen to my parents scream at each other at night.”

His expression was unreadable to Leo. What’s that glint in his eyes? Sympathy? Pity? Probably relatability, but who knows. 

“It’s better than having no parents at all.”

“Is it, really?” A grin spread across the slider’s face. 

It shut Donnie up. He was hesitant, but proceeded to walk toward the bed and sat on the opposite side of Leo. “How did you accept it?” he clarified, “the fact that your parents didn’t love you and abandoned you?”

“My current family.” Leo turned his head to face Donnie, the grin turning into a warm smile coated with honey and sugar. “Welcome home, Donnie.”  


* * *

  
Donatello still didn’t understand what Leonardo meant. Sure, it had brought him to tears, but it was more because he suddenly remembered his mom’s smile when she was still alive. His emotions were a mess; he shouldn’t have let his emotions define or control his behavior. It was so dumb to suddenly break down in front of his newly proclaimed brother. Especially when that brother is so peculiarly different from other people he’s met in the past.

When his mother started acting weird two months ago, Donnie also started to observe her actions, silently watching her every movements to come into a conclusion. Like a science experiment, to be exact. He came up with the hypothesis that his mother was experiencing symptoms of stress after she found out that her alpha husband had left her for an omega woman. Donnie was confident that his hypothesis would be correct. However, as time goes, she was showing indications of depression and signs of suicidal behavior such as giving away things she treasured the most and, in this case, Donatello himself.

His suspicions were confirmed when his mom had a meeting with Splinter, a friend of her dad’s in the past. Apparently, his grandpa and Splinter had been raised and trained in the same dojo, until they finally became masters of their own dojos. Donatello trained in his grandpa’s dojo, until he unfortunately died from stroke a year ago. His life started going downhill since then.

Donatello was a smart child, a genius, they all call him. He was perceptive, matured faster than the kids his age, and creative enough to invent things to lessen the burden of doing daily, inconvenient things like cleaning his room. Not only that, he also diligently attended ninjutsu training daily, his skills clearly above the other students of the dojo. His parents couldn’t be prouder of him.

Then, his grandpa died, and his mom fell into a deep sorrow. Things escalated quickly, and soon, his dad admitted to his mom that he’d been cheating on her for a few years now and that he’d like to get a divorce to remarry with his mistress. If the cheating wasn’t enough, the fact that the woman he cheated on was an omega made his mom’s insecurities grew larger. She knew she couldn’t compete with the omegas, she knew, yet she had insisted that her alpha husband wanted her, a beta. She wondered why his husband accepted to get married with her. Probably because of her money.

From there, his mom spent her days contacting relatives and friends, on the phone for hours on end. He heard her speaking about searching for a willing legal guardian for him, and his heart dropped to his stomach. She even signed her will early, inheriting all the money’s family to Donatello, through the legal guardian. He was about to be abandoned by his mom. In the end, he kept silent, waiting for the right time to confront his mom about it. 

Her discussing his adoption with Splinter had been the last straw for Donnie. On the way home, he asked his mom if she wanted to die, in which she answered with the softest, most gentle voice ever, “Yes.”

Donnie’s chest ached.

The reason his mother had taken her life was because she lacked affection and love, and hearing Leo talk about love made him sick to his stomach. Believe it or not, he was worried that Leo might do the same thing his mom did. Getting used to living with the lack of love is important and Donnie made sure he always kept that at the back of his mind, lingering like a dreading angel of death.

Then, Leo called him his family. It bloomed a sense of familiarity and warmth in his heart, and the dam that he’s been keeping strong to prevent himself from crying broke down, causing the tears to flood out like streams of a raging river. At some point, Donnie remembered a vague warm hand on his back, but he didn’t dare to get attached to the person who placed that hand there. If he caught feelings, he might get the same fate as his mother. Some research showed that suicidal tendencies can run in the family, and Donnie wasn’t about to off himself because of such thing called “love”.

In the end, he did appreciate Leo’s way of calming him down. He wasn’t too up his business and gave the room he needed for himself while also being a comforting and supportive person. Maybe Leonardo isn’t as bad as Donnie thought he was. Unlike other children, he was fast and perceptive, also witty. He’s not like those drooling kids with dumb, edgy humor in his school who harass other people and call it a joke. He was more complex, and Donnie felt that just by talking and looking into his eyes.

Maybe, just maybe, he could let himself loose around the red slider turtle? To be vulnerable around him? Maybe, it wouldn’t be too bad to accept him as his brother. After all, they’ll be sticking together until they’re of legal age to move out. It should be fine; he wouldn’t get too attached. He knew his own boundaries and limits.

Donnie might be a genius, but he was also naïve.


	3. Growing Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The omegaverse-y plot starts in this chapter!  
> Warning: some underage kissing and discussion about sex and such. If you're uncomfortable with that, feel free to skip.
> 
> The art in this chapter was made by a friend of mine who wants to remain anonymous. I didn't put the watermark there, she did :D

As soon as Donnie and Leo turned twelve, their school bombarded them with sex ed. Puberty and such. For Donatello, sex ed was something he understood even without school telling him the process of an erection; he learned that far before he was supposed to. And no, he’s not ashamed of it. It’s purely educational and important because knowing his own body meant he knows himself.

On another hand, Leonardo learned sex ed through something other gen Z’s usually learn through. That’s right, porn. The first time he watched it with Mikey, it was all from pure curiosity, like other boys his age. They didn’t know why the things in porn happened, or how it happened. Like, how is that alpha’s dick bigger than before, or why is the omega leaking so much water? Wouldn’t it hurt for the woman if someone puts something in their peeing hole? They had so many questions about it and they knew Donnie would be able to answer it, **in a biological way**. For research purposes, nothing more.

As for Raphael, since he’s a year older than Leonardo, it was obvious that he already learned sex ed from school. However, compared to Donatello, Raphael was more closed off and considered sex as something taboo. Raph didn’t want to talk about it to his own brothers; he felt like it was wrong. And so, Donnie was their last resort.

“No.”

“We haven’t even said anything.” Leo crossed his hand above his plastron. 

Donnie rolled his eyes, sighing as he did. “Whatever it is that you two want to ask me, I just know it’s gonna be either stupid, or wasting my time.” To dismiss them, the genius pushed the goggles on his head back to his eyes and focused back on whatever it is that he was working on. “Now, go. I need to fix this toaster you somehow managed to burn, Nardo.” The way Donnie spit out Leo’s name made the blue banded turtle grumble.

“Come on, bro, listen to us just for this once?” Mikey used his pleading voice and puppy eyes, hindering his older brother’s point of view by leaning from the side. 

Leo decided to join in, leaning from the other side. “Yeah, come on Donnie-boy, listen to us, please?”

With the eyesores in front of him, Donnie couldn’t ignore them any longer. He gritted his teeth in annoyance his fists that were resting on the desk before him slowly relaxing as he gave in. “Fine. Make it quick.” He huffed out a loud sigh to make sure his brothers knew that he was thoroughly pissed with them. He turned around with his seat as he crossed his legs.

“So, porn—”

“Yep, never mind.” Donnie went back to his desk, turning as quick as possible. The way he switched up so quick was almost comical to the point that Mikey and Leo didn’t even have time to react.

The brothers blinked twice in disbelief, watching the back of the soft-shelled turtle work on his desk. “Why? What’s so wrong about porn, D? We were just gonna ask you to teach us about sex ed.” He threw his hands around the arm-rest of Donnie’s seat and forcefully turned the genius to face them. “Isn’t education important, hm? Donald?”

Donnie slapped Leo’s hands from either of his arm-rest, unimpressed by his brother’s attempt to steal his attention. “Don’t call me that, Da Vinci.” He cleared his throat, “Yes, education is important, but learning sex ed through porn can be destructive, since it could lead you to porn addiction. Something that I’m pretty sure a turtle in this room named Leonardo could very well get into.”

“Yeah, well, enlighten us so that we wouldn’t fall into the trap of pornography addiction, then.” Leo retorted as he tilted his head. 

“It’s too weird.” Donnie simply said.

“It’s **education.** ” 

“You’re just trying to clown me, Leo, I know you.” 

The accusation made Leo gasp dramatically, “Excuse _moi_? Why would I do that my dear brother Donnie, my man?”

“Because you’re you.” He scowled. With the number of jokes and pranks Leo has pulled on him in the past year, he would never trust him again. He was done being the object to ridicule.

Being caught in the middle of Donnie and Leo’s argument was no new thing for Mikey. So, he interfered, pushing them back from in between them. “Alright, alright, time out.” He broke their ongoing argument. “Now, Leo, we already know how his big head can be very hard and stubborn so let’s just leave it at that?”

Leo choked at Mikey’s comment of Donnie’s big head, in which the insulted turtle only responded with rolling his eyes. Ignoring the comment, Donnie decided to slip in the chance to make them leave him alone and sided with his youngest brother. “Yeah Leo, why don’t you leave this big-headed turtle alone, hm?”

The trademarked shit-eating grin Leo had always used formed again on his face. That goddamn grin, looking so cocky and confident, Donnie wanted to punch him so bad. But he was rational, a very rational and logical turtle, so he held back the grudge and waited. “Fine, D, only ‘cause you admitted that you have a very large head.” He patted the top of his brother’s head mockingly.

Donnie was so close to elbowing Leo in the face. “Yes, Leonardo, since I admitted that I have a gigantic, enormous, head which contained a VERY big brain to support this starving family of ours,” he inhaled, “why don’t you, respectfully, leave my room?”

“Hey! It’s my room too!” Leo seemed like he wasn’t ready to end the argument soon enough, so Donnie decided that it was best for him to just focus on his own thing until Leo eventually gave up and exit the room. “Okay, whatever, I’ll let it slip, just this one time, Donnie-boy, I’ll remember this day, Donnerinsky! I’ll never let you go the next time, Donkey Kong. Just know that I’ll—” Leo kept on babbling, even when Mikey was dragging him out of the room.

“Bye, bro! See you at dinner!” Mikey yelled louder than Leo before slamming the door shut.

* * *

It was finally time for Leo to learn about sex ed. To say that he was excited was an understatement, and it was seen from the way he swung his feet and whispered things to his friends as they giggle around him. He turned his head to face the back of the class and found an unimpressed Donnie in his seat, slumping his body in his seat with his hands crossed across his plastron. Teasing Donnie was his favorite thing to do, so he stuck his tongue out to mock the turtle, but he seemed unfazed by the harmless mockery, so Leo turned his energy levels down.

When the class started, his expectations of having to watch porn with the whole class was shut down when the mutant teacher started drawing a weirdly shaped penis. The whole class made a vomiting sound when the teacher explained that it was indeed, a penis. Leonardo also grunted, throwing his head back on the seat spine and saw an upside-down Donatello in his sight. That piece of shit was snickering, he knew that it would turn out like this. Feeling defeated, he rested his head on the table and continued to listen, despite the boring and weird explanation of their sexes.

However, after the long, and drawn-out explanation of basic mutant reproductive organs, the teacher moved on to explain secondary genders. Now this, is a subject Leonardo could get into. His whole life, he’s heard terms like omega, alpha, beta, and such, but no adult would care to explain what those words meant to him. They just awkwardly dismissed the topic as if it was Voldemort’s name. He sat up straight and began to listen intently.

He learned about how alphas are basically the dominant ones, the ones to lead families and are basically the strong, dependable pillar in the hierarchy. They can impregnate any omegas and female betas (only). Even female alphas can impregnate. The boys in the class started to go rowdy when the teacher spoke about alphas. Leo was too, excited. He wanted to be an alpha, to be strong and dependable to his family, to protect his family and especially... 

Leo turned his head again and his eyes were immediately drawn towards Donnie’s.

_Donatello._

A smirk from the boy was enough to get Leo flustered and spun back to face the black board. He placed his hands on top of his plastron and tried to regulate his breathing. “Calm down, Leo, it’s just Donnie, it’s just your stupid, nerdy, handsome— wait, no, I meant ugly brother.”

The teacher continued after he calmed the class down.

Then, he explained about how betas are the “normal” ones in the hierarchy. They basically have no secondary gender and aren’t able to detect pheromones or anything like that. Betas are most commonly found in humans, although it’s also the most common secondary gender in mutants. It’s just that humans are less likely to present as alphas and omegas. They’re rare in the mutant species, and even rarer in humans.

After betas, came the omegas. The crowd died down when it was about omegas. None of the boys in the class was obviously showing that they want to be submissive. Leonardo only snickered; he knew that there was nothing bad about being omegas. Muttering degrading words when the teacher was explaining about the secondary gender is just straight up insulting and rude, so Leo kept his mouth shut.

Omegas are the submissive ones; their role is to care and nurture their offspring and carry the babies in their wombs. They’re very gentle in nature and their instincts always tell them to be obedient towards their alphas. It seemed like it’s too bothersome to be an omega, so Leo didn’t really pay close attention. He was convinced that he wouldn’t turn out to be an omega. It’s just statistically impossible for him to be one.

However, if Donnie turned out to be one, he really wouldn’t mind. 

He gasped, realizing his own, dirty thoughts about Donnie. This is one of the signs of puberty, he remembered. The teacher literally just said that boys in puberty would start to imagine dirty, erotic things, whether it’s about their friends, their crushes, or celebrities. This is completely normal, Leo. This is nothing he should be concerned of. 

Still, why does it have to be about Donatello, out of all people. There’s so many other cute girls and boys in his school, but of course, he had to thirst over the big-headed nerd. He grunted, touching his warm cheeks with his cold hands. 

In his daze, the class continued in the background, and he snapped out of his daydream to listen. The teacher explained that they would start to present at the age of 15, but there are also early-bloomers who’d present at 13, and late-bloomers who’d present at around 18 years old. He told the class that if they don’t present when they reach the age of 18, it means that they’re just regular old betas. 

He also said that there are early signs to determine if one is an alpha or omega. Usually, alphas would have strong instincts to protect even at the early ages of their childhood, meanwhile omegas would usually be docile and obedient, quiet. There are also physical traits like how alphas gain muscles easier compared to omegas, and how omegas usually have a slender, smaller build. However, these signs do not apply to every alphas and omegas. Buff omegas exist as slender alphas exist as well. It’s just a general indication and guide to determine their secondary gender in the future.

Leo unconsciously turned towards Donnie again. He observed the turtle that had been busy with his own business, reading a book that seemed like the mandarin dictionary tripled and glued together. Donnie was clearly an omega, Leo thought. He was slender, and his muscles weren’t nearly as defined as Leo’s. He was scrawny, basically, and he never showed traits of dominance... or not? Leo flashed back to when Donnie acted very demanding towards him, ordering him around like he’s his personal slave.

Leo shrugged it off, the teacher clearly stated that those aren’t accurate indications of someone’s secondary gender. But he, the great Leonardo Hamato, was clearly, an alpha. He’s always been dependable and strong, not to mention that he’s responsible. Although he’s not nearly as strong when compared to Raphael— who’s a painfully obvious alpha—, he was still quite an obstacle to be defeated in a strength match.

After feeding his ego, he moved to the empty seat beside Donatello. As he settled himself down on the seat, he wiggled his brow ridges in an attempt to annoy the fuck out of Donnie. It was a very successful attempt, it seemed, as Donnie immediately sighed and put down his book to give the look that Leo sees very often. The tired look with lidded, dead eyes that screamed “what do you want.”.

“No, nothing, really, just wanna let you know that there’s a very big chance that I’ll be,” Leo paused to tighten the nonexistent tie. “the man of the family very soon.”

Donnie was used of Leo’s big ego, but he never really knew how to tune it down. “You mean an alpha.” He corrected, in which the other eagerly nodded to. “You do realize that women can be alphas too, right? So, it would be biologically _and_ logically incorrect to—”

To shut the purple banded turtle, Leo placed a hand over his mouth and giggled. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, D. I was just joking.” He finished, releasing his hand so that his brother could breathe.

“Oookay... I hope you’re also joking about the part where you become an alpha.” Donnie sounded so confident in his words, it made Leo uncomfortable.

“What? If anything, the chances of me turning out to be an alpha is bigger than yours.”

This time, Donnie was the one to show off a shit-eating grin that Leo usually had. “Oh, Leo, only if you knew that secondary genders are heavily dependent on genes.” Leo was obviously lost, so he continued, “You see, if your parents are alphas, you’re most likely going to turn out as one as well. This goes for omegas and betas too. It’s just basic biology, really, and it’s the same principle as Mendel’s Law.”

“Yeah, I totally understand all of that.” The apparent sarcasm in Leo’s voice made Donnie’s ego grew.

“Alright to make it simple, my dad is an alpha, right. And my mom was a beta.” He paused to make sure that Leo was catching up. “So, the chances for me to turn out to be an omega is zero, you see. I either present as an alpha or not present at all, which means I’ll be a beta.” It seemed as if he wanted to speak again, so Leo kept quiet. “But then again, what about your grandparents and the generations before you, you say? Well, surprise, surprise, Leonardo Da Vinci, all of them are either alphas, or betas, I checked the family tree. Thus, in conclusion, the zero chance of me turning out to be an omega is **absolute**. Therefore, you can’t mock me, Leo. We don’t know whether you’ll turn out to be an alpha or omega, it will be a complete surprise.”

Leo pouted, clearly defeated by Donnie’s lengthy and perfectly logical argument. “Should we make a gender reveal party?” he grinned, “So we can go boom! Boom!”

Although he needed to admit that Donnie was right, his ego doesn’t seem to die down, so he whipped out a smirk, “If I turned out to be an alpha, you’ll be the one I mark, Donnie.” Albeit almost unnoticeable, Leo could see that Donnie’s expression faltered a tiny bit for a second. 

“Ohoho, not so fast, Nardo. I’ll make sure to mark you first.” Leo’s breath fastened, the way Donnie seemed so confident and fervent about marking him made his head woozy and cloudy. He turned his head back to the teacher without letting his mouth slip any more words out. Even though he already diverted his eyes from Donnie, he could still feel his gaze lingering on him. He’s got alpha genes in his body for sure.

_Fuck._

* * *

Two years passed since the promises they made to each other, and they both had already forgotten about it. Just another passing, empty words they uttered to each other; no biggie. However, Leo secretly had those words imprinted at the back of his mind, as if he was waiting for the time, as if he wanted that time to come. At one point, the promise made him go crazy, so he decided to bury it deeply and treat it like a passing wind. Insignificant.

Two years passed also meant that Raph was at the age to present, and like everyone in the family already predicted, he presented as an alpha. It was a hot summer night, and Raph woke up feverish, sweating. He already knew what it meant, so he ran out from his room to get himself away from Mikey and went into Leo’s and Donnie’s room, barging in with ragged breaths. The loud banging from the door woke both the slider turtle and the soft-shelled turtle.

The urgency in Raph’s voice had made them woke up quicker than ever, skipping the sleepy stage of waking up. Leo held the eldest brother gently stroking circles on his back as he very softly brought him to the bed to sit down. The other turtle was also moving quickly too, rummaging through his desk to find the bottle of suppressants he had made specifically for Raphael a few months back. While searching, he glanced back and forth between his searching hands and Raphael, who was at the edge of going into his first rut.

Usually, when alphas or omegas present, they must immediately be contained in a confined room by themselves to go through the heat or rut. However, as their apartment is very cramped, they had no choice but to give suppressant even though it’s the first rut. Not that it would affect his life afterwards. It’s just that the “tradition” amongst the society was to let their presenting children go through their heat cycle or rut.

And Donnie, like the logical turtle that he is, decided that tradition is bullshit, and that they must protect themselves from Raphael’s rut, since an alpha’s rut can be very dangerous if not handled correctly. They can act very aggressive, territorial (thus the confined room), moody, and of course horny. And anyone, omegas, betas, or not presenting yet, can be a victim of an alpha’s rut. In this case, Mikey to be specific.

Awoken by the loud noises, Splinter came into the room and helped Leo calm Raphael down. Since Splinter was a beta, he really couldn’t be any of help beside restraining Raph from running away. 

“Donnie, it would be **great** if you used those four eyes of yours to look for the fucking pills!” Leo was getting impatient, sensing that Raph is going into rut very soon. He dared not stare at Raph’s lower half. Let’s not get into that.

The tone of Leo’s voice made Donnie glare at him. “I’m **trying** my best Leo, shut the fuck up and keep Raph in place.” He muttered again, “The poor guy will probably break if he goes into a rut and hurt someone.”

“Leo, I don’t want—” Raph heaved. “To hurt anyone, so please...” 

“Shh, it’s okay big guy,” Leo held Raph’s hand, “You’re not gonna hurt anyone I’ll make sure of that.”

“Yes, no one gets hurt in my household, red.” Even Splinter looked tense. “You can have my word.”

Hearing the conversation behind him, Donatello became more erratic in searching. His hands were shaking and he was sweating the most sweat in his whole life. His whole body was drenched and the heat was getting to him. He needed to focus and search for the goddamn pills. Fuck, if only he organized his very messy desk in the past, this wouldn’t have happened. He threw all the papers and book from the desk, pulling everything out from his very cluttered drawers. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—

“Donnie, Donatello,” A warm hand he recognized too well held his hand. “Calm down. Come on genius, work it out, breathe.” Leo’s voice was so velvety and smooth, Donnie felt like he could fall asleep then and there. His eyes met Leo’s sharp onyx eyes and he breathed properly.

“Okay, yeah,” Donnie blinked a few times before going back to searching, this time calmer and efficient.

“You don’t need to search everywhere, just dig into your memory.” That reassuring smile of Leo had always calmed him down. Always.

Then, the genius recounted the day when he made the suppressants. He was in finishing on formulating those pills, when Leo suddenly came in and ask if he could borrow his shampoo, which broke his concentration. They got into an argument and his hands automatically moved without his command to store those pills; muscle memory. That’s it, muscle memory. He had done it so often that his hands always put the miscellaneous things in one specific drawer.

He gasped once he remembered which drawer it was, hand pulling it open and finding the bottle of suppressant there. “Got it!” 

Leo smiled, watching proudly as Donatello gave the suppressants to Raphael. Not long after he ingested the pill, he calmed down and fell asleep on their bed. Splinter watched as Raph drifted away to sleep and put on his stern mask once the commotion died down. He exited without a word and went back to his room to continue to sleep. 

It suddenly went silent. The sounds of crickets and owls accompanying them in the middle of deafening stillness. Leo looked at Donnie, in which he looked back at him. “You caused this whole fucking mess, Leo.” His tone was playful, he was in no way accusing, and Leo chuckled.

“What, how?”

“You asked for a shampoo and I got distracted.” Donnie wiped his sweat and aired his dampened shirt. “Ew,” he muttered, and he promptly pulled the shirt over his head to change.

Leo watched him carefully but looked away once Donnie glanced at him. “You’ve got great memory.” He spoke whatever that was on his mind as he walked over to the bed to watch Raph peacefully sleep on their shared bed. “I’m so glad he’s okay.”

“I know, right. I formulated the suppressants to work faster compared to the ones in the drug store with the infusion of—”

Leo’s hands were opening and closing like a ventriloquist puppet to mock Donnie, and he glared in an unimpressed manner at the brother in blue. “You know what, forget it.” He wasn’t angry, Leo knew, so he proceeded to follow him out the bedroom to the living room.

“Heyy, nothing wrong with a lighthearted joke after a tense situation.” Gleefully, Leo jumped on the couch beside his brother and leaned back on the armrest. “To light up the mood, y’know?”

“Suuure,” Donnie retorted sarcastically, elongating the u’s. He chose to ignore Leo immediately after that, pressing on the TV remote to turn the screen in front of them on. He switched between channels for a while, mindlessly watching the screen constantly change as Leo stared intently at him. Despite the uneasiness, Donnie shrugged it off and nudged Leo’s foot with his own to let him know that he’s annoyed. “Stop it.”

Leo snapped out of his stupor, taking deep breaths afterward as hints of red bloom around the red marks on his cheeks. He didn’t know what it was, but that specific night, Leo couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the purple banded turtle. Unconsciously, he’d been worrying on his bottom lip so much that he drew blood, it was also worse because he had chapped lips. 

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, just barely audible to Donnie, and the genius lazily glanced away from the TV to his direction. In the darkness of their living room, the tiny speck of Leo’s blood wasn’t so visible that he’d immediately know what it was, but it was enough for him to inspect further, as the family’s doctor. Donnie raised an eyebrow and sighed, “What’s that? Let me see.”

Before Leo could reply, Donnie almost instantly rose up from his seat to lean forward and get closer to his blue banded brother. Upon seeing Donnie closer, Leo suddenly became hyper-aware of everything about him. About the way his lips slightly parted, the way his lidded eyes darken in the dim room, the way his breath quickened when they came closer, and the way—

While Leo was observing Donnie’s features in the dark, the genius had already planted his lips onto Leo’s bleeding ones. They both froze with the kiss. Don had one arm supporting him as he held onto the backrest of the couch, one of his knees resting in between Leo’s parted legs, and another hand fixed on the couch just beside his waist. Donnie completely had him locked on the couch, not that he wanted to protest.

Although the kiss was still and awkward at first, when Leo snapped out of his trance, he closed his eyes and _moved_. He tried to copy the thing people do in movies when they kiss, moving his tongue experimentally all over Donnie’s lips and he placed a finger under his chin to angle their mouths better. The blood on Leo’s lips tasted like iron, and it was usually a taste he didn’t quite like, but this time, the taste of it made him drunk. Donnie, stunned by the sudden willingness from Leo, felt his body go weak. Breathless, he tried to pull away but Leo seemed like he wasn’t ready for the kiss to end.

Leo was under Donnie, looking up at him like he was the most amazing thing he’s ever seen in his life, his eyes glistening with want and his cheeks redder than the red marks on his face. His chest heaved up and down slowly, the lips that Donnie should’ve been checking for wound smeared with blood and saliva. He couldn’t lie to himself, he also wanted to taste more. He wanted to know how every part of his body tasted like, and Leo knew he had that in mind.

The red slider cautiously removed Donnie’s hand from the backrest of the couch and placed it on top of his belly where the hem of his t-shirt had slightly lifted to expose the plastron underneath, just above the waist band of his pants. He shivered once they touched, and Donnie’s hand slowly slithered further up underneath the fabric. Their darkening eyes locked with each other, clouded with lust and newly found feelings.

“Donnie? Leo?” Mikey’s voice called out, making them both jolt in surprise as Donnie sat back down on his side of the couch, retracting his hand. 

They were both staring dead straight at the TV when Mikey came into the living room, suspicious of their very stiff expressions and bodies. The smallest turtle might be young, but he wasn’t dumb by any means. He caught some of the hints, starting from the flush on their faces, the messy blood on Leo’s and Donnie’s lips, the way Donnie was sitting awkwardly on the couch; it was a dead giveaway that something happened. Mikey raised a brow ridge and gave them both a knowing look. He never went further than letting them know that he knew with that gaze.

“Anyways,” he heaved, sitting in between the two older turtles. “where is Raphie?” he proceeded to look back and forth between the others.

“Hm? Oh, Raph presented.” Leo replied, casually. “Did you really sleep through all of that noise?”

His eyes lit up with realization, “Oh those noises where Raph?” he laughed, “I thought that was just the monster in my dream!” His older brothers looked at him like he was another different species. “What? I’m just a really heavy sleeper.”

“You slept like you were on sleeping pills or something.” Don added, his eyes didn’t dare to glance over to the other side. At least, not yet.

“Maybe I was on sleeping pills, you wouldn’t know, bro.” 

“I would know, Mikey.” The purple banded turtle quickly retorted. “Trust me, I would know if you ingested any type of medication out of my prescription. I also would know if you did drugs, so watch out for that.”

“Don’t give him any ideas, D.” It was the first time they talked after the whole kissing thing, and Donnie still felt like he was suffocating. 

He tried to relax on his seat, slumping down to get comfier on the couch. “I was just giving him early warnings, Leo.” He side-eyed the younger turtle. “Since I know he’d be very easily influenced by his friends.”

Mikey huffed out, offended by Donnie’s remark about him. “Whatever, Donnie,” he glanced to behind the couch, at the end of the hallway where Donnie and Leo’s room was located. “How— how is Raph, by the way?”

There was a strain in his voice, something both Leo and Donnie couldn’t quite figure out in what way or why he sounded like that. They shared a look and eyed Mikey suspiciously. “He’s fine. The suppressants worked like a charm and he didn’t get hurt or hurt anyone.” Leo placed his hand on top of Mikey’s round head. “Your alpha is fine, Mikey.”

Flabbergasted, Mikey looked at Leo with the widest eyes possible. “I— wait, what? Huh?”

“We know, Mikey, we’re not dumb.” The genius snickered, enjoying the sight of the smaller turtle panicking.

“And I know something happened with the two of you before I came here.” Obviously, it caught them by surprise too. They froze up. “You see, Donnie, Leo,” he had the cockiest tone possible coating over his voice. “I already know, I’m not dumb.”

Getting insulted by his own words wasn’t Donnie’s most favorite thing in the world, if it wasn’t obvious enough. “Keep talking and I’ll burn your skateboard.” The threat was taken seriously by his little brother, and he received an elbow to his stomach. He winced in pain, smacking the back of Mikey’s head.

Leo chuckled softly at Donnie’s reaction. It was cute how he seemed so desperate to maintain his image. “Something **did** happen, Mikey.” And Donnie whipped his head towards Leo so fast, his eyes threatening. “Donnie was just checking on my bleeding lip. I chewed on it too much.”

“Oh! Does checking a bleeding lip involve an intense make out session?” The fake innocence in his voice made it ten times worse. Donnie seemed like he was ready to jump out the window that instant. 

“I mean, probably, I dunno.” Leo’s smirk turned devilish. “You should ask the doc who did the check up on me.”

“Leonardo.” The once playful atmosphere turned heavy with just a word Donatello uttered with such authority in his voice. His face stiffened and so did the other two turtles. Satisfied with the outcome, Don sighed a long, tired huff and slumped back to the couch. He was slowly sinking into the old, musty foam, and usually, he’d absolutely hate it, but this time, getting swallowed by a couch and disappearing from the face of earth seemed very tempting.

“You’re no fun, D.” Mikey started again, getting braver after Don relaxed. “Come on, spill the beans.”

“I can’t spill the beans when there’s no beans to spill.” Don had sunk so much further into the cushion than before. “Now go back to sleep Michael.”

“Yeah, Mikey, I hate agreeing with Don, but you really need to go back to sleep.” Leo stretched his body, “You have school tomorrow.”

“You guys are only a year older than me.” It was a fair protest, Leo thought. “Why am I the only one treated like a child.”

Mikey wasn’t wrong. He was not a child anymore by any means. 

“Just go to sleep Mikey.” Don really didn’t want their younger brother there. “Please.” The hoarseness in his voice indicated tension, and Mikey immediately understood the situation.

Sighing, he hopped off the couch and slowly walked backwards to his room. He gave them the “I’m watching you” gaze before slamming his door shut. Leo had never heard Donatello sigh so loudly in relieve. 

“Sooo...” Anxiously, Leo rubbed his thumb in a circular motion on the couch, the hyper-awareness was still there. “What happened?”

The frustrated grunt Donnie let out had represented what he felt about the whole incident. “I don’t— I don’t fucking know Leo; I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Obviously, Leo had no idea about what just happened either. “Well, you kissed me first.”

“And you kissed back.”

“I kissed back only because **you** kissed me, dumbass.” The image of Donnie being so close to him was still fresh in his mind. He didn’t like how it made him feel all kinds of things he shouldn’t be feeling. “Now, Donatello, why did you kiss me?”

Don was now huddled up like a cocoon in his corner of the couch, pouting. “I don’t know.”

“Come on, Donn—”

“I don’t know.”

Leo raised a brow ridge. “Don—”

“I don’t know.”

“Say I don’t know one more time and I’ll expose your internet history.” Leo successfully grabbed Don’s attention. Finally. He smirked, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his basketball shorts, scrolling through the screenshot album on his gallery. He was lucky he remembered that Donnie had forgotten to log out of his google accounts one time in the past. The internet history was... questionable, but it wasn’t like Leo had better internet histories. “Good. Now answer me before I send the screenshot to—"

“Because your lips looked kissable.” Leo’s heart instantly drummed faster against his chest, hearing what Don had said about his lips. Unsatisfied with the silence between them, Donnie repeated, “Because **you** looked kissable.”

Leo was about to say something, but Donnie intercepted, grabbing the blanket resting on the backrest of the couch. “You can go to sleep in Mikey’s room.” He avoided eye contact, snuggling with the blanket and making himself comfortable on the couch, ready to fall asleep. “I’ll just sleep here.”

“Okay.” Leo stood up. “Night, Don.”


	4. Barely Tangible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read, probably contains so many grammar mistakes and weird sentences. My first language is also not english, so please pardon the mistakes.

The morning after Raph’s presenting as an alpha was eerily normal. Sure, Raph was being a baby, complaining about every single new sensation he felt due to his heightened senses, but beside that, it was _normal_. When they had breakfast together in the dining room, Leo and Don had their usual, daily morning banter about some random stuff they didn’t even really care about. Mikey was a little bit fidgety around Raph, though, feeling self-conscious about the fact that Raphael is now an alpha. Leo only snickered at the sight of his two brothers.

And Donnie... he was jumpy. Just a slight brush against naked skin and he’d twitch, turning grumpy and giving Leo curses under his breath. Why is he so angry? He was the one who kissed Leo. But beside his jumpiness, their interaction seemed to be normal; nothing out of place or weird. Don didn’t even flinch whenever Leo threw sexual jokes or suggestive one-liners. Physical touch though, it got under Don’s skin so much he went to school without waiting for Leo. Since he hated riding the bus alone, the red slider assumed that he went with April instead, their beta, human friend that lived next to them.

Leo wasn’t really ticked off with the fact that he went first, after all, he could just go with Mike and Raph. It’s just that for a second, Leo noticed something different about Don’s eyes. His gaze appeared so much sharper and darker than the night before. There was also the vibe he gave off; everyone could feel confidence oozing off of him. Okay, maybe what Leo said earlier about Donnie acting normal was false, he just didn’t realize it earlier. It’s like he matured overnight or something. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what made Don feel different altogether. 

In the end, he couldn’t figure it out despite analyzing every single thing that Donnie had said to him earlier. He shrugged it off and went to school with his other two brothers.

* * *

Night came again and Leo was getting ready for bed. He turned off the light in his room, replacing the light source to the nightlight on the bedside cabinet of his side of the bed. Getting sleepier as the light in his room turned dim, he laid down on the bed, torso facing up. As he drifted away to sleep, however, Donnie slammed the door open so loud, he jolted to sit up in surprise. Obviously, he was pissed by the loud sound that disturbed him, so he glared at his brother.

“Donnie, are you trying to pick a fight or something?” His eyes had gotten so heavy that he couldn’t see Don clearly in the dimly lit room as the soft-shelled turtle was standing in front of their door with the backlight darkening his silhouette. “Don? For fucks sake, sleep.”

He was so ready to fall back asleep, but Donnie seemed so off, he couldn’t help but continue to stare at his brother. The silhouette closed the door behind him, ignoring Leo who’d been calling his name repeatedly. He went to his desk and sat down on the chair, rummaging through the drawers and cabinets of the purple-colored desk. His movement was erratic; all over the place, and he was shaking all over. Leo started to get concerned, his sleepiness drifting away from him slowly. He sobered up.

Carefully, he stepped down from the bed and walked slowly towards Don. “Donnie?”

With a sigh, Donatello finally responded, “I’m going on a rut in approximately ten minutes, maybe less.” He pondered for a while, still facing his desk but his hands had given up on searching, drooping down to either sides of his body. “No, we only have less than five minutes.”

Leonardo froze at the news. So, Donatello was an alpha after all. Jealousy started to twist in his stomach, mixing in with concern and a puddling heat he couldn’t identify where it came from. He shook his head. His brother is probably in pain right now, and all he could think about was getting jealous that he presented early. His teeth gritted, “You didn’t make suppressants for yourself?”

Looking defeated, Donnie turned his head to face the red slider, face oddly erotic. Leo almost slapped himself at that thought. “I didn’t, and I can’t use Raph’s suppressants either, our doses are different.” Hooded-eyed, Don aired himself by fluttering the neckline of his t-shirt, his collarbone glossed with sweat. “Fuck, I should’ve known that Raph’s presenting would also trigger mine.”

Leo remembered this part of the sex ed two years ago. Sometimes, when two alphas who are yet to present live in the same household, —which is extremely rare, and the only reason the Hamato household had two alphas is because they were all not blood related— if one of the alphas presented, it would trigger the other alpha to present, even if they’re significantly younger. This was a mechanism for alphas to secure their own territories, since presenting later would mean they’d get less territories. 

It’s a thing for animals in the wild to mark territories and such, but obviously, those instincts are still carried in the alpha genes, despite the change in modern society where you don’t need to worry about territories. So, basically, if two alphas are present in the same pack, they’d fight for the true alpha position, usually until death. Fortunately, with modern medicines, suppressants and other hormone inhibitors could help prevent that situation.

However, at that moment, they had no suppressants, so Donnie might attack Raph out of instincts, even if Raph doesn’t fight back. This could turn out bad. 

Leo watched as Don’s pupils dilated into slits, taking a step back once the presenting alpha let out a low, guttural sound. “Okay, Donnie, here’s the plan.” Leo started laying out plans in his head. “I’m going to lock you in here, so you won’t hurt anyone and I’ll run to the drugstore to buy you some suppressants. It won’t work as fast as the ones you made for Raph, but it will hold you for tonight.”

Feeling his consciousness slipping away, Don clenched his fists in a way to hold himself back from tackling Leo to the ground. “Leave, fuck— **Leave, NOW.** ”

Leo was trembling, but he strengthened his resolve and ran out of the room, whispering a promise that he’ll be back very quick. As he locked the door, Mikey and Raph, who were enjoying popcorn on the couch while watching a movie on the TV, were alerted by him. The first to ask about what happened was Raph, as he noticed that something was off.

“What’s this smell?” The bigger turtle asked, sniffing the air around him. “It’s coming from your room, Leo.”

“What smell?” Mikey asked, not smelling Don’s pheromones due to the fact that he hadn’t presented yet.

Erratically, Leo ran to the door to sit down near the shoe rack and put on his running shoes. “Donnie’s presenting.” Grimly, he said to Raph, whose expression turned serious instantly. “I need you to stay away from my room, okay? I’m getting him some drugstore suppressants.” Leo stood up, giving no chances for his brothers to ask more questions.

He left the apartment and ran through the hallways to the emergency stairs; taking the lift would be too long. He couldn’t afford to make Donnie wait any longer, since he knew from the sex ed class that going through a rut without a mate is painful, especially for the lower region. Fuck, Leo didn’t need to think about Don’s cock. He shook his head, running down the emergency stairs as he skipped the steps to go quicker. In no time, he arrived on the ground floor.

He then ran out the apartment building, looking around the streets to recall where the closest pharmacy was located. He rarely goes to pharmacies, because Don mixes all the medicines for everyone in his household. Ugh, Donatello is a blessing and a curse at the same time.

As he was looking around, he saw a pharmacy at the end of the street just a few meters ahead of him. Wasting no time, he ran as quickly as he could, slipping through between a sea of creatures skillfully. Finally, his ninjutsu training is paying off. It wasn’t long until he arrived in front of the pharmacy. Heaving, he entered the white building, a familiar sterile scent entered his nostrils as he went in. 

The pharmacist behind the counter was a human lady, and when she noticed Leo walking in, she kindly smiled at him. He walked up to her and regulated his ragged breathing before talking as she waited patiently with a smile. “One bottle of... mutant suppressants for alphas... please.”

“Ah, we need the weight and species to determine the dose,” She spoke softly. 

Leo cursed under his breath. How would he know that he’d need Donnie’s weight to buy a bottle of suppressants? No one in sex ed class had told him that suppressants aren’t something generic and universal for everyone. “Um, well, I think his weight and mine isn’t that different. His species is a mutant turtle.”

The pharmacist nodded, understanding the urgency behind his voice. “Okay, and how much do you weigh?”

“Probably around 200lbs?” His shell was the main reason they weighed heavier than other mutants their age, but He wasn’t sure if Donnie’s soft shell affected his weight the same way his does. “But maybe a little bit lighter? I— I don’t know.” 

“It’s fine, doesn’t need to be specific.” The pharmacist assured before turning around to the tall rack full of medicines behind her. She grabbed a bottle for pills and filled it with what Leo had assumed to be Donnie’s suppressants. 

He sighed in relieve, the only thing he needed to do was to feed the pill to Donnie. How, he’d do that is another problem he’ll solve later. Now, focus on the suppressants. “How much will that be?”

“That will be fifty-two dollars and fifty cents.” Fuck, it’s more expensive than he thought it’d be. 

He rummaged through his wallet, pulling out five of ten-dollar bills and dropped some pennies on the counter. He counted his money to make sure that it was the right amount and he pushed it to the pharmacist once he was sure he had the correct amount of money. “Here you go.”

As he handed the money, the pharmacist also handed him the bag of suppressants and once he had it in his hands, he bolted out from the store. No hesitation in his steps, he ran as fast as his leg allowed him to, almost getting hit by a car in the process. After the whole thing, Leo swore that he’d ask Donnie to pay him back for the money, the energy, and also, the fact that he almost died for him.

Arriving in front of his apartment, he could already hear Donnie’s groans from inside. For a second there, the pooling heat in his stomach had came back, but he tried to ignore it. He pushed the door open, finding the two of his brothers and Splinter in the living room, fidgeting as they hear Don’s pained grunts and yelps. For a second there, he heard a moan and the whole family froze. This was the worse experience in his life.

Leo carelessly kicked his shoes off, leaving them scattered on the ground without putting them back on the racks. “How long since I was gone?” He asked, walking towards his room. 

“Fifteen minutes, blue. You took longer than you should’ve.” Splinter scolded, but Leo couldn’t care less about it. 

Dread ran across his whole body once he realized that he’d be facing Donnie in rut alone, since involving too many people would cause the alpha instincts in Don to get more aggressive. He gulped, unlocking the door to his room slowly, his grip around the bottle of suppressants tightening along with his twisting stomach. He pushed the door open; the room was still like how he had left it fifteen minutes ago, except that now, Donnie was on the bed, grinding against the bundled-up duvet.

He quickly shut the door close and it notified the presenting alpha, causing him to snap his head towards Leo. Donnie still had his pants on, thankfully, but the silhouette of his dick was still clearly visible against the tight fabric of his boxer. He was hugging the bundled-up duvet all while also burrowing his nose into a pillow, to be specific, Leo’s pillow. It seemed like he was inhaling Leo’s leftover scent on the pillow, and it didn’t help with the fact that it was getting hard for Leo to ignore the pooling heat in his stomach.

Donnie eyed his brother carefully, growling whenever Leo made the slightest of movement. “Hey Donnie, I brought back your suppressants.” He was careful not to surprise the alpha, walking very slowly to the bed. “It’s okay, it will be over soon, bro.” He tasted bitterness on his tongue when he called Donnie “bro”. Never again.

Compared to before, Don’s pupils were completely diluted into slits whereas earlier, they were still shaped like very long ovals. Leo gulped, being stared by Donnie’s predatory eyes. He didn’t want Don’s rut to last any longer or he’d go crazy, so he pulled a pill out of the bottle. He knew that he’d need to force feed it to Donnie, or else he wouldn’t ingest the suppressants at all. 

Still with slow and cautious movement, he crawled to the bed with his knees, approaching Donnie. He was about to reach for Donnie’s jaw when he suddenly pulled Leo’s wrist, his grip so tight that Leo was sure it would bruise. The alpha pinned his wrist above him, forcing him to lay down below the stronger turtle. Afraid that thrashing around and resisting would just make the situation worse, Leo laid still under the purple banded turtle, hiding the pill in his free hand. “Donnie...” Leo bent his knee, which had accidentally brushed against Don’s clothed erection. It caused the alpha to groan, his voice low and breathy.

Great, Leo’s pants were getting tighter. 

Donnie scanned him up and down, then he nuzzled his snout into the crook of Leo’s neck, inhaling his scent. It was hard for Leo to hold back a moan, feeling Don’s lips brush ever so gently on the sensitive areas of his neck. He bit his lip, noticing that Don’s hips were starting to grind down on his crotch, and the wave of pooling heat went from his stomach straight to his dick. Fuck, he can’t get marked by Donnie.

Then, taking the alpha by surprise, he pushed Donnie away and switched their positions so that he was on top of the genius. “Okay, Don, calm down for a minute, okay?” It took his whole strength to hold down the alpha below him, his muscles tensing every time Donnie tried to thrash around. He was pinning both of Donnie’s wrists with just one hand, so it meant twice the trouble, and he had put his body weight down on the alpha’s crotch.

At first, Donnie resisted, but when he realized that his erection was in between Leo’s ass, he buckled his hips up and rolled them, needing friction. Leo shuddered once he felt the rock-hard erection settling against his ass, still trying to hold back moans from escaping his mouth. Suddenly, everything around him spun, his vision blurry from the sudden sexual urge he had towards Don. He needed to get that suppressants down Don’s throat fast.

With the free hand, he tried to force the pill in Don’s mouth, but his lips were screwed shut. It irritated him, and he forced a finger in, using it to wedge Donnie’s mouth from closing, meanwhile his other two fingers inserted the pill down the alpha’s throat. Obviously, he resisted, trying to bite down a couple of times, in which Leo did not appreciate. He didn’t care about treating Don gently anymore, pushing his fingers with so much force that he was sure they reached Don’s trachea. 

He pulled his fingers out, but midway, one of Donnie’s hand broke free to pull on Leo’s wrist, keeping his fingers inside Don’s mouth. He was taken aback; Donnie wasn’t trying to bite him anymore. His tongue swirled around Leo’s fingers, covering every inch of his digits with thick saliva before he willingly pushed Leo’s finger down his throat again. His eyes had started to turn back from looking animalistic and the way Don looked at him made him whimper softly. After one last sucking, he finally pulled out Leo’s finger out from his mouth and reached for his jaws instead.

The alpha placed his hands on either side of Leo’s face, just below his cheeks. Gently, he pulled Leo’s face closer to his to connect their lips together. Once again, they kissed, melting more and more into each other with each breath they took. At that point, Leo had a full-on erection. “Don— Donnie...” He called out, wanting to free himself of the alpha’s grip, but it only made him kiss Leo even more eagerly, his teeth biting the small cut on Leo’s lip that it started to bleed again.

It stung, but the way Donnie’s tongue run against the chapped lips of his turned that pain into pleasure. He grunted, kissing Donnie deeper than before. Then, he was out of breath, and he pulled back, leaving a string of saliva connect from Donnie’s lips to his. Fuck, Donnie’s expression was so lewd, it turned him on even more. They stared at each other for a while as Leo noticed that Don’s eyes had completely turned back to normal. How long had he been back? 

“Leo,” Donnie murmured, his heavy eyes fluttering close. The suppressant had effectively put him down to sleep. 

Breathless, Leo’s chest heaved up and down as he watched Donnie drift away to sleep below him. He could feel the erection on his ass slowly disappear, but his own erection hadn’t. He stepped off the bed and quickly ran to the bathroom, avoiding the rest of his family in the living room who had been waiting for an update from him. When Mikey opened his mouth, Leo shut him up by saying, “Bathroom. Don’t disturb me, my hands are all gross from feeding Donnie the suppressants.”

And with that, his family didn’t question anything. He locked the bathroom door, his knees wobbly, and he fell to the floor. He used his imagination and recalled the way Donnie looked below him, all lewd and full of passion, looking him up and down like he wanted to devour his whole body.

It was a good jerking off session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asked my artist friend to make me an illustration of donnie and leo! Dw I'm not the one who put watermark there she just prefered to remain anonymous  
> 


	5. Broken Promises and Breathless Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art in this chapter is by a friend of mine who prefers to remain anonymous.
> 
> No beta read, so many mistakes. Pls forgive me D:  
> ALSO!!! I posted art for the third and fourth chapter!!! Check it out if you haven't!!!

Donnie remembered everything that had happened last night _crystal clear_. Going into a rut might’ve caused him to lose himself in his instincts, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t remember every shit that happened. It was a whole different thing from being drunk where you can just say you don’t remember anything that happened and just get over it. It’s just that he had no control over his body, but he still had fully cognitive function to remember every shit that went down.

He remembered the hopelessness of losing control over his body, the incredible sex drive and aggressiveness that came with it, the growling sounds, oh god it was the worst, he was so sure he sounded like those weird “rawr XD” kids on the internet. But the most vivid memories of all; the memories of him with Leo on their bed as Leo was trying to force the suppressants down his throat. And when Donnie grinded on his ass, fuck, what the hell was that. It was so embarrassing that he could just jump right out the window.

When did he regain control over his body, exactly? Donnie couldn’t remember the switch between him and his alpha instincts, but one thing for sure is that kissing Leo wasn’t the alpha instincts doing. If it was the animalistic instinct inside of him, he would’ve marked Leo right away instead of kissing him. It was more from the heat of the moment that carried him away. Leo looked so irresistible above him that he couldn’t help but to ravage those lips of his. 

Then, his heightened senses, fucking hell. Donnie regretted calling Raph a drama queen when he was complaining about it because it really is annoying. He could hear every single thing around him, starting from his own breathing to Raph’s snore that he usually wouldn’t hear. The same goes to his other senses. Fuck, getting used to everything would be such a pain in the ass. He won’t be able to focus on his own things if he couldn’t get used to it soon enough, because it’s so distracting.

Upon opening his eyes, Donnie groaned immediately, covering his head with his pillow as everything around him triggered his senses. He didn’t want to get up and go to school, imagining all those noises and smells around him already made him nauseous enough. But then again, he can’t miss his AP classes if he wanted extra credit scores to apply for scholarships. He needed those credits, bad.

Sluggishly, he sat up on the bed, finding no signs of Leo being around. Figures, he thought, as he just literally attacked him last night. He stood up and walked over to the mirror, the dried blood on the edges of his lips crusted overnight. It was Leo’s. A tinge of blush appeared on his cheeks when the red slider came into his mind. Even though he’s the type of person who’d despise other people’s bodily fluids on him, he somehow didn’t mind Leonardo’s. 

As he was dragging the sleeves of his shirt across the dried blood to remove it, his ears picked up a Leo’s voice from the kitchen, along with sounds of sizzling oil. The familiar sound of Leo’s voice instantly attracted him towards the source as he walked out his room. The closer he was to the kitchen, the faster his heartbeat picked up, expecting to meet Leonardo soon.

He was right, Leo was in the kitchen, humming a song while his hands worked on frying eggs and bacon on the stove. He was so focused on cooking the breakfast that he didn’t sense Donnie’s presence behind him. Besides, Don was actually impressed by the fact that Leo managed to get the stove working without burning the whole place down to the ground. Without saying anything, he pulled a chair and sat there, convinced that it would alert his brother of his presence, but Leo kept on working without acknowledging him.

He waited, finger tapping on the dining table to make sure that Leo knew that he was there. Then, he cleared his throat. “Leo,” he called out and the referred person flinched in response. “Thanks for your help, um, last night.” Wait, what is he saying, no, not the kissing and grinding part, he meant to thank him for the suppressants.

Leo finally turned his head, eyes glossy and bright despite the thing that happened between them last night. “Oh, yeah, but you gotta pay me back for the suppressants, dude.” It was understandable that Leo would want him to replace his money since suppressants are supposed to be expensive. “You owe me fifty dollars and a favor.” He paused. “Also, your life.”

“The fifty dollars, sure, I’ll pay you back.” He could just ask Splinter for money since technically, it’s his responsibility to take care of Don until he’s at least eighteen. “But why a favor and my life?”

Leo picked up the plates of their breakfast from the counter and placed one in front of Donnie. The egg was a bit burnt, but it was edible. He took a seat right across Donnie. “Listen, I almost got hit by a car when I ran back to the apartment. Imagine that.” He said with a mouthful of bacon. “That shows just how much I love you, D. Imagine if I actually died!”

“Sounds like a you problem.” Donnie quipped back, also chewing on the breakfast Leo just served him. 

“Ohoho, not you acting like you didn’t just drag me into _your_ problem last night, Donnie-boy. I should’ve said that to you when you were grinding on our duvet.” 

Hearing that made Donnie’s cheek burn. “That was just hormones taking over. Shut up.” He tried to sound as dismissive and as unbothered as he could. 

“Oh? Was the kiss also because of the hormones?” Leo was getting more comfortable with his teasing, which was a bad sign; he usually goes into ruthless-teasing mode whenever he shows that trademarked grin of his. “Was it, Mr. Alpha?”

“Don’t.” Donnie paused as he pointed his fork at Leo’s face. “call me that, and yes, it was the alpha instincts. I had no control over my body.” He lied as easily as he breathed, hoping that Leo would buy into this whole alpha instinct’s pheromone narrative. 

“Well, you better tell your alpha instincts to apologize because the wound on my lip bled again because of it,” Leo rolled his eyes and said sarcastically. Hearing that made Donnie look up and see that the area around the wound was a bit swollen and red. It had gone worse than before. “Next time,” The red slider spoke again, shifting Don’s attention from his lip to him entirely. “be gentle if you want to kiss me.” Their eyes didn’t connect, but Donnie could tell that he wasn’t joking when he said that. He genuinely wanted Don to kiss him gentler, _next time_ , that is, if there will ever be a next time. 

“Next time?” Don parroted, playing dumb. 

“Yeah, next time.” Leo confirmed casually. “I just **know** you will never get enough of me.” Donnie could’ve sworn that he saw a hint of lust in Leo’s eyes for a split second there.

Without missing a beat, Don replied, “You think too highly of yourself, Nardo.”

“Mmm, yeah, says the person who sucked on my fingers last night like it was my dick.” Leo dropped the bomb.

“Leo, I swear to god—”

“Was my ass good, by the way? Did you like how it felt against your cock?” The smirk on Leo’s face was only growing wider the more he spoke. It’s clear that Leo was trying to talk over everything Donnie wanted to say, cutting him off mid-sentence. “What were you imagining when you did that to me, Donnie?”

“Leo.”

“I bet you wanted to fill me up so good with your cock.”

“ _Leo._ ”

“Oh, and how about marking me? Did you ever think—"

This time, it was Donnie’s turn to shut Leo up, not with words, however. He was pulling on the collar of Leo’s shirt, leaning over the table so that their lips could clash against each other. It effectively stopped Leo from talking for sure. The kiss was short lived as Donnie sat back down, leaving the other wanting for more. “Was I gentle enough?” The purple banded turtle asked, a smirk decorating his face.

Leo was left dumbfounded in his seat. “You’re so unfair.”

“What’s unfair?” Came a voice from behind Leo. “Good morning guys,” It was Raphael, emerging from around the corner with a big yawn and a stretch. “Oh Donnie, how are you feeling, man?”

“I’m fine. It’s not a big deal, really.” Donnie replied calmly, sipping on his tea. “It’s not as bad as you made it to be.” He added, teasing Raph about how he was being a drama queen the day before. 

“To you, D. Everything is so clear to me that it’s hard to think.” Still half-asleep, Raph plopped down onto his seat and face-planted onto the dining table.

The alpha talk between Raph and Donnie made Leo raise a brow ridge. They were both clearly rubbing it in his face, or at least Donnie was. “Yeah, yeah, I can’t think most of the time too, Raph, you’re not special.” The big turtle pouted at Leo’s remark, but he chose to dig in to his breakfast instead of replying.

“You don’t think at all, Leo.” Sensing the irritation in Leo’s tone of speaking, he decided to tease him about it. “Sometimes I wonder if there’s actually something inside that hollow head of yours.”

“Haha, very funny D. If you’re so smart, why don’t you donate a piece of that big brain of yours to me?” Leo stood up, picking up the dirty dishes in his hands. 

“As if you can handle this brain of mine.” 

“Why don’t you handle this dick?” Were the last words Leo said before disappearing into the bathroom, presumably to wash up before going to school. Donatello scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Raph found it quite funny and he snickered softly which earned himself a killer glare from Don.

* * *

Since then, their habit of kissing each other whenever they want to shut each other up continued. Sometimes, the kiss wouldn’t last for even a second, meanwhile other times, it would last so long their lips feel numb. None of them questioned anything, the kiss they exchange happening so naturally that it was almost as easy as breathing. It never went further than that though; afraid about what would await them if they continue further. They were both satisfied with whatever it is that they had between them.

The weird habit of theirs continued for about a year until it became less frequent as they grew up. It also affected their relationship as a whole; their clashing schedules preventing them from interacting with each other. Once Leo turned sixteen, he insisted on working a part-time job to help the family since the dojo is practically out of business. Not only that, Leo found out that his dad had stopped sending money right after his most recent birthday, even when he agreed that he’d send money until Leo is of legal age. He proceeded to work while going to school due to the situation. Around that time too, Donnie insisted on separating their room into two by putting a wall in the middle of their room.

Obviously, Leo objected to it, finding nothing wrong with sleeping together in the same bed since they had no problem with it for almost five years until Don suddenly wanted his own room. They had a big fight because of it, and in the end, Don built the wall anyway, ignoring whatever Leo had to say about it. For the next two or so months, Leo wouldn’t stop calling him Donnie Trump or just Donald, and it made him avoid the red slider even more than before.

At sixteen too, Donnie got accepted in a youth scholarship program which allowed him to enter college early and for free, as long as his GPA meets the university’s standard, that is. No one doubted that he’d excel higher and Splinter signed all the papers as Donnie’s legal guardian. Not that Donnie would care if Splinter prevented him to go, he’d simply run away from home. Due to his enrollment to college, Don’s relationship with Leo grew more strained and tense. Donnie would stay overnight in the library of his university, meanwhile Leo worked multiple shifts at a supermarket down the street. They barely met or talked anymore.

Day after day passed like a blink of an eye, and before they knew it, Raph turned eighteen. He graduated from high school and continued to work as a mechanic at a workshop that he’d been frequently visiting since middle school. No one in the family protested against it; everyone knew how much Raphael liked doing it, so they just accepted it as it is. Well, except for Donnie. He gave a lengthy lecture about how Raph would benefit so much from the degree he gets from college, whereas Leo, being a supportive brother towards Raph while also disagreeing with Don just to spite him, gave his full support. It had been the last straw, and they just stopped talking altogether. The situation made Leo feel frustrated, angry with the way Don treated his family.

Right after Raph’s graduation and their big argument, Splinter passed away.

They were already in a bad situation as it is, and his passing only made it worse. Raph became their legal guardian since he was the oldest and the only one who was legal at that time. Their economy situation worsened, forcing them to sell the dojo even though they had promised that it’d be the last thing they give up. But they had no choice; Raph’s minimum wage won’t be able to support their family of four. As sad as it is to sell the dojo where they had spent most of their childhood, they had to survive.

It was probably one of the most depressing times of their lives. Even Raph and Mikey drifted away from each other, their relationship isn’t as strong as it used to be. Seeing his family fall apart broke Leo’s heart, but he couldn’t just magically fix everything. He was also not on speaking terms with Donnie anyway, so he would be a hypocrite if he asked Raph and Mikey about their issues. Watching it brought him back to when he was with his old family; he never thought the same thing would happen with his current family.

His mind was full of so many things, he started getting headaches very often and he’d fall asleep in classes. His grades dropped, some of his friends left him, and he turned to be someone who’s very moody. He’d snap at people for being mildly irritating and the slightest miscalculation in a math problem would make him go crazy. All of those things made him reconsider going to college. There was no way he’d be able to concentrate studying in a prestigious university while his family is on the brink of falling apart. But then again, Don would probably get mad if he immediately works after graduation.

No, fuck Don’s opinion.

He couldn’t possibly work at a supermarket forever though, he needed to search for a job that accepts a high school degree with decent pay and good shift hours. It made him drown in his own thoughts. Maybe a sex worker? He heard sometime ago that a strip club is looking for a beta male stripper. The pay is more than decent and he could set his own working schedule, but he also doesn’t know how to feel about shaking his ass in front of dozens of people. Donnie would totally—

No, again, fuck his opinion.

“Leo?” Mikey’s voice called out from behind. Leo immediately snapped out of his imaginations.

“Yeah?” He inhaled, watching his little brother walk to the spot beside him to sit there and snuggle close to him. It’s been a while since Mikey willingly cuddled with him, ever since he hit the edgy puberty phase. This is rare. “Mikey, what’s wrong?”

“Mm, I feel dizzy.” The smaller turtle croaked, his voice dry and hoarse. He seemed so pale and weak whereas he usually looks bright and animated.

Leo’s brow ridges furrowed. His hand touched Mikey’s forehead and sure enough, his temperature was high. “Do you feel anything else?” With the symptoms that Mikey was having, a suspicion popped up in Leo’s head. He needed more information to confirm it though.

Suddenly, Mikey turned shy, averting his gaze to the ground. “I feel all weird.” He sounded uncomfortable saying it, and Leo instantly knew where the conversation was going. “Down... down there.” He choked out those words, burying his face into the palms of his hands.

As someone with a family of two alphas, it was nothing new, so he calmly stroked his brother’s head, making little circles to soothe him. “You’re presenting, Mikey. It’s okay, Don prepared some suppressants in the medicine cabinet,” Leo said before standing up, his fingers typing a message to Donnie and Raph to tell that Mikey’s presenting. “Hold on. I’ll get the pills and a glass of water for you.” 

Mikey nodded, and the red slider strode to the bathroom to search the medicine cabinet. He stood in front of the mirror and his finger clicked on the small opening at the side of the hidden cabinet. He rummaged through some old medicines and salves, grabbing the orange bottle of pills hidden at the back. He grabbed one of the two and closed the cabinet with a small click. He was about to run back to the living room but he stopped dead in his tracks once he noticed something off. Hold on. One of the two?

He brought the label of the pills up to his face and read “Mikey’s alpha suppressants.”. Just to make sure, he grabbed the other one out from the cabinet and it read “Mikey’s omega suppressants.”, which made him remember that Mikey could turn out to be one of the two. He forgot the possibility that Mikey might be an omega. This made his stomach churn uncomfortably; he never handled an omega before. No, don’t worry Leo, it shouldn’t be too different, right? Just a little fever and a pill of suppressants could fix it.

While he was deep in his thoughts, he heard Mikey groan in pain and ran back to the living room. The box turtle was sprawled on the couch, trying to strip himself out from the fabric on his body as he leaked slick onto the couch. “Leo, he— help, I’m, I feel so hot, I’m burning.” 

Yep, he’s an omega. 

Without asking more questions, Leo quickly grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and helped Mikey swallow his suppressants. “You’ll feel better soon, I promise.” Leo settled down on the floor next to the couch, his hand on his brother’s shoulder with the hope that the gesture would bring him comfort. He’s growing up, and it caused a tinge of ache in his chest. Everyone is growing up.

“When is...” he paused, shifting position to be more relaxed. “When is Raphie coming home?” When Leo looked into his brother’s eyes, he saw something very familiar. The look of yearning, wanting; a look he’s seen in Donnie’s eyes before. Damn, Mikey is probably affected by the remains of Raph’s pheromone inside the apartment. They have to move Mikey’s room to Splinter’s, because an alpha and an omega in the same room might lead to another economic downfall to their family.

As for Mikey’s question, Raph is probably not going to be home until the next day since he sometimes gets carried away with his job. “I dunno Mikey, tomorrow, maybe? You know how he likes to overwork himself.”

The answer made the little omega sob, “Raphie...” 

So, this is an omega who’s longing for his alpha, huh? It’s pretty cute, Leo thought. The fact that someone could miss another person so much just from their scent. He couldn’t relate at all, as a beta. “Shh, just sleep Mikey, I’ll let him know that you miss him later.” 

The suppressants were working like a wonder, from the way Mikey turned drowsy in just a few minutes. Before he fell into deep sleep, his hand reached out to grab Leo’s and brought it up to his cheek to rub his snout softly against Leo’s rough palm. He purred for a second and fell asleep with a content smile. The red slider couldn’t help but to adore his cute brother, his thumb slowly grazing against Mikey’s puffy cheek. He was about to bring Mikey back to Splinter’s room, but he decided against it and stayed in that position for a few minutes, leaning his head against the little space on the sofa. 

In no time, he also fell asleep as Mikey’s peaceful expression carried him away.

* * *

Leo then woke up from the sound of the apartment door unlocking. Drowsily, he glanced over to the clock and mentally noted that he’s been asleep for three hours as the digital clock showed 23:48. The grip on his hand was easier to let go than before, so he pulled back slowly, not letting Mikey’s head fall to the sofa. He yawned and stretched his body, hearing the bones crack satisfyingly. 

Then, a figure emerged from behind the apartment door. Donatello.

As the soft-shelled walk into the living room, their gazes lock for a few seconds, but Leo was the first to break it once he noticed that there was exasperation in Don’s eyes. His breath seemed to get ragged once he enters. “Why aren’t you cleaning him up?” Don asked, his voice low and unintentionally sultry. He looked so tired that he didn’t bother to fix the glasses slipping off his snout, the eyebags under his eyes dark only accentuating his bloodshot eyes.

The way he spoke made Leo shudder in response. He gained composure and turned his head to face Donnie, “I fell asleep while I was calming him down.”

“You should’ve immediately cleaned him up after giving him suppressants.” The tone of Don’s voice raised slightly, “His scent is gonna fill the whole living room for a whole week now because of you.” Leo could tell that Don was trying not to inhale too much or else he’d be triggered into a rut. He gets that Donnie was tired, _he gets it_ , but why does he feel like arguing just to spite him?

“Well, I’m sorry for staying by my brother’s side when he was presenting.” He shot a look at Donnie, “At least I was there for him.”

Donnie rubbed his forehead, sighing. He immediately saw through Leo’s intention, but he wasn’t in the mood to play the silent role because he knew it would just make Leo hate him even more. “How was I supposed to know?”

“I **messaged** you.” Leo was so pissed that his voice sounded like a hiss. “That’s why you need to start replying to my messages, Don.” His fists clenched around the bundled-up blanket on the sofa. “

Donnie’s eyes went wide for a second, guilt swirling inside his chest. “I was busy, Leo, please understand.” His voice softened on the last words. “I knew you were able to handle it alone, and you did. So, why are you acting like this?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’ve been acting like a bitch for the past, what? Like, two years?” Leo’s chest tightened. “Don, our family’s falling apart, and we’re turning eighteen soon which means you’ll be granted independence from the Hamato name.” He really didn’t want to brought the topic up, but it needed to be done. “What are you going to do when you reach legal age? Grab the million dollars inheritance from your mom’s will and leave us to die?”

Donnie gnashed his teeth, his jaw strained and his eyes full of rage. “What do you mean, Leo? You know I don’t like it when you talk about my dead mom,” he said through his gritted teeth. Ever since he presented as an alpha, Donnie’s been so much more aggressive, and sometimes it scares Leo of how much times it looked like Don was about to hit him in the past. He never did, though.

“Because you act like you’re going to leave us!” Tears prickled the edges of Leo’s eyes. “I’m sorry I brought her up, but I’m concerned about Mikey’s well-being. Mine and Raph’s income won’t cover his tuition fees, no matter how hard we work.”

“Who—” Donnie swallowed a lump of pressure in his throat, “Who the hell said that I’m going to leave you?”

Leo was sure that it was his trust issues and abandonment issues that convinced him that Don is going to leave them, but he didn’t care. He knew deep down that Donnie didn’t believe in love and the bond they formed over the years. “You said it yourself that family can’t buy you food, and that you don’t need love to live. Those words of yours— those innocent eyes of an eleven-year-old staring into mine and saying that he didn’t need love.” Leo was on the verge of screaming. “Those words played over and over in my head, clouding my head with the thought that you’ll leave us, that you’ll leave **me!** Because I know the only reason you held out so long in this family is because of the inheritance money. I know, Donnie...”

“It was years ago! I—” The frustration caused tears to pool in his eyes. “I don’t think like that anymore, Leo.”

“Your actions proved otherwise,” Leo scoffed, “Do you realize how much shit we’re in right now?”

“Leonardo, fuck, I promise to take care of you and the rest of our brothers when I get the money. I’ll buy you everything you want; you can go to college and you won’t need to work in that supermarket anymore, and I’ll make sure to buy that fucking workshop to make Raph the owner!” Donnie’s chest heaved up and down, his lips trembling from the strained muscle. “I’ll take care of you, Leo.”

Those last words sounded like a lie, yet Don’s glossy eyes made Leo want to bask in ignorance so, so much. “No, I don’t believe you, Donnie.” The soft-shelled had reached out his hand to touch Leo’s shoulder, but the red slider shrugged him off before he could. “You’ll find someone someday, like your dad, you’re going to find a pretty omega slut to worship you and that big brain of yours—”

The sounds around them turned silent as if he had just pushed the mute button on the TV remote when Donnie’s soft lips brush against his. Their faces were so close to each other that Leo could’ve sworn he smelled Donnie’s alpha musk. The purple banded turtle pulled his glasses out of the way, hesitating before finally leaning into a slow, sugary and burning kiss. Leo was so glad he’s not standing or else his knees would’ve buckled down and he’d fall limply to the ground because of Donnie’s sweet taste. God, it’s been so long since Don shut him up with a kiss, he might get addicted to his kiss again.

The kiss didn’t last long. “Leo, trust me, just this once. I don’t want anyone, I just want—” Donnie paused, searching for the word, hesitating, thinking, calculating, or whatever the hell he was doing that made him stop talking.

_Please say you want me. Please._

“I just want our family to be safe and happy.”

Leo’s eyes were once staring hopefully into Don’s jet-black orbs, but they lost their sparkles as soon as Donnie said those words. Fine, even if Donnie doesn’t want him, at least he promised to take care of the family, and that’s all Leo should be caring about, not some hopeless romance between two adoptive brothers. The most important thing is making sure that in the future, they’ll be stable, at least economically, if not mentally. He’s too far gone anyway.

He sighed a long, unending breath. “Fine. Just don’t go back on your words, Donnie.” Leo pierced his gaze towards his brother, “or else.”

Donnie seemed to take an offense to Leo’s untrusting behavior, but he held himself back, watching as the red slider carry their youngest brother into Splinter’s room. This shitstorm isn’t going to end soon.


	6. Something We Shared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read, my first language isn't english, blabla ya'll know the drill.
> 
> Enjoy this chapter and make sure to listen to the song mentioned in this chapter!!! Also, listen to the same version mentioned ;)  
> Oh and I also updated the maturity rating!!

Maybe Don was more amazing than Leo had originally thought. Sure, since the beginning, he already knew that Donnie was a genius with the intelligence of a scientific research team consisting of twenty people, maybe more. But he’d gotten so used to his smart-ass that he doesn’t realize how amazing it was for Donnie to be able to create suppressant pills at the age of fourteen. Kids their age was learning about the structure of plants meanwhile he had the skills of a professional pharmacist. Not only that, he’s also talented in engineering, medical, and just all fields of science in general.

The day after Mikey presented, Leo was forced to realize how much of a genius Donnie is. Talking to Don the night before prevented him from getting a good sleep, and he ended up oversleeping because it took him hours to finally fall asleep. When he woke up, he already knew that no matter how fast he runs to the school, he’d still be late. Waiting for the bus was also not an option since the next bus wouldn’t come until another fifteen minutes. He was already not in good terms with the teacher at school, and coming late on a Monday morning would just make it worse.

As he was hastily getting ready, Raph came home with sweat all over his body, chest heaving like he had just ran a marathon. “Welcome home, Raph.” Leo greeted while he jumped around the apartment, trying to fit his feet into the black jeans.

“Where’s Mikey? Is he alright?” The concern in his voice made Leo’s heart melt. Aw, the poor guy probably fell asleep at the workshop and only saw the message he sent this morning.

Still putting his clothes on while running around the apartment, Leo replied, “He’s in Splinter’s room and he’s perfectly fine, don’t worry too much. I’m gonna tell the school that he’s taking a break today since he just presented.” 

Hearing Leo’s answer, he exhaled in relieve. “Can I, can I see him?” 

Then, the younger turtle stopped running to meet Raph’s eyes. “Sure... but don’t get too freaky. He just presented today so everything is going to be overwhelming for him.” He finished, disappearing into his room, then his head peeked from behind the door to say something again. “Oh, and use protection.”

Raph’s face turned so red, it almost matched his bandana. “I had no intentions to do that!”

Leo shrugged; his smirk visible. “Who knows what would happen behind closed doors?”

Unimpressed by his brother’s antics, Raph groans as he connected his forehead with the door to Splinter’s room. He closed his eyes, letting out longing breaths and inaudible promises as Leo watched him from across the hallway. They were so lucky, to want each other equally, to yearn for each other in silence while knowing their feelings would be returned. Not to mention that Raph is a big, strong alpha while Mikey is a cute, small omega; they were a perfect couple. 

The image of Donnie and him popped up in his head. They were almost the same height, the same size, and most importantly, Leo wasn’t an omega.

He sighed hopelessly, leaving Raph to do whatever he was doing in front of Splinter’s room to grab his bag which was sitting in the corner of his room. As he does, his ears picked up a sound from the other side of the wall. Donnie’s room. He stayed quiet for a second, hearing Donnie hum a song while he was walking around the room. Curious, Leo pressed his ears to the walls separating his and Don’s room. He closed his eyes to hear better.

He recognized the song. It was the song he recommended to Donnie a few years ago when they were roasting each other’s Spotify playlist. Donatello wasn’t much of a music guy, he rarely sings when he’s by himself, let alone when there’s other people around, especially when his music taste consisted of many lyric-less songs. The memory of them sitting at the back of the school, sitting close by each other with each of the earphone buds in one of their ears came back to Leo’s mind. 

When Leo played the song, they both fell into silence as the melody of Daniel Caesar’s “Get You” play in their ears. Leo accidentally played the slowed and reverb version of the song, which made it sound more sensual than it already is. They didn’t bother to change it and continued listening. For the first minute of the song, they just sat stiffly while they avoid each other’s eyes, but when their eyes finally met, electricity ran through their bodies. 

Leo was the first to reach out and placed his hand on Donnie’s jaw, pulling their faces closer to each other. They melted into a really deliberate and gentle kiss as their hands connect, fingers intermingling. No lust like the night of Don’s presenting, just _feelings_ and them exploring each other’s mouths patiently. Tongues brushing against lips, small nibbles that tickled, awkwardly clashing teeth, content hums, fluttering eyelashes, and hot breaths against each other’s lips. When the song ended, they both pull back, but their hands still connected, and they stayed like that until recess ended.

It was far before their relationship got messier than Leo’s tangled earphones. 

_“Who would've thought I'd get you?”_ In an almost inaudible voice, Leo sang the song, and Donnie stopped humming. Fuck, alpha senses. Don must’ve heard him and figured out that Leo was listening to his hums. He held his breath as he tiptoed out of his room, but right when he opened the door, Donnie did as well.

They stared at each other for a second. Donnie was wearing all black, and holy shit, he looked hot. His black shirt was unbuttoned until the third button and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his straight black trousers hanging just above his ankles while his hand held the messily folded coat. Since when did he look so mature? They were the same age but Don’s whole aura made it feel like he was ten years older. Leo felt self-conscious with his oversized navy sweater. He looked like any high schooler ever. 

“What?” With a frown, Leo asked, breaking the silence between them.

For a few seconds, Don stared up and down at Leo the way Leo stared at him earlier. “Aren’t you late for school?”

“I am, so bye,” Dismissively, he waved, striding towards the door.

“I can take you to school.” And Leo stopped right before he turned the door knob.

“With what?” Although skeptical, he was curious with what Don meant by taking him to school.

With a smirk, Don held up his hand to dangle a Mercedes car key in front of Leo’s stunned face. “With this.”

Leo opened and closed his mouth like a fish for a few times, disbelief written all over his face. “Excuse me? I think you skipped some parts of being poor.”

“I’ll tell you in the car.” Don confidently said with the smirk still visible, walking past Leo. “Come on. It’s parked in the basement.” The red slider had no choice but to follow Donnie if he wanted to know the story behind this... this weird ass car that showed up from nowhere.

Did Donnie steal it? No, no matter how low he is in life, he’d never steal. Plus, he’s got too much of a pride to do it. Maybe he fixed an abandoned car? Nah, he’d still have to pay a few hundred dollars for that, since the only place he could think of finding a broken car that expensive would be in the car junkyard, and they still charge for an inoperable car. Leo was a hundred percent sure that Don wouldn’t spend his money on something so broken only for him to put the time and energy fixing it. He’d rather buy a new car. But he’s too broke to buy a car, so where did he get it? It was driving Leo mad. Get it? Driving him mad? Leo silently laughed at his own joke.

The whole lift ride to the basement, Leo was deep in thoughts and guesses while Don stared at him in amusement. It must be fun for him to watch Leo descend into madness from curiosity. Plus, he knew that Leo had too high of an ego to beg him about it. He’d have to wait until the motherfucking longest lift ride to end. How long does it take to go down to a basement, again? He doesn’t fucking know; he never went down there.

The _’ding!’_ sound of the lift pulled him away from his train of thoughts and he almost jumped in excitement when the door slid open. “Fucking finally,” he muttered under his breath as he walked out of the tiny metal lift. 

He was walking so confidently that he forgot about the fact that he doesn’t even know how the car looked like. Sighing, he turned his body to find a very amused Donnie standing still in front of the lift. He walked back to the lift and made sure to stand behind Don, and he could’ve sworn to whichever god was up there that the soft-shelled turtle had whispered ‘good boy’ or something. It made him raise a brow ridge. What is this, fifty shades of grey fanfic? Then again, he could’ve said it ironically just to tease Leo. Who knows?

They walked for about a minute until Donnie stops in front of a slick, black Mercedes sedan which looked so fitting next to him in all-black outfit. Leo was still in disbelief until Don clicked the button on the car key and sure enough, the door of the car unlocked with an audible _click!_ Don proceeded to enter the driver’s seat as Leo followed into the passenger seat, still in awe.

“Ok, which snobby rich student did you steal this from?” Was the first question Leo asked. It was more of a joke than a genuine question, but he thought it’d be funny if Don actually stole it.

“What? No, I didn’t steal it.” Don rolled his eyes. “I’d never steal.”

“Then ho—”

“Shelldon, start the engine.” Donnie stopped Leo from talking, speaking a command to whoever Shelldon was. The red slider assumed that it was some sort of a Siri-like AI built inside the car. But why “Shelldon”? Why would Mercedes name their AI “Shelldon”?

Sure enough, the engine started, the smooth sound of revving causing mild vibration in the car. As Leo pulled the seatbelt over his plastron, he suspiciously eyed Donnie, who had the widest grin he’s ever had in a few years. “Okay, since you’re done showing off this car that mysteriously appeared out of literal nowhere,” he crossed his hands over his chest to get his point across. “now will you tell me the whole story?”

With lidded eyes, Don stared straight ahead as his hands slowly stroke the leather steering wheel to find a comfortable place and settled his left hand there. His right hand went further down to the gear stick, moving the gear from park to neutral, then to drive so easily just with the tip of his fingers. Skillfully, he drove away from the basement like he’d been driving the car his whole life. He didn’t seem nervous or jumpy for someone who just started driving a car.

“Donnie, you better answer me before I drive this car into a lamp post.” Leo threatened. It might sound like an empty threat to Donnie, but he might just do it if he keeps on stalling.

“Mm,” Donnie only hummed as if he was deep in thought, his voice dropping an octave lower. “Shelldon, play “Get You” by Daniel Caesar,” Almost instantly, Leo’s heart dropped to his stomach while there were also butterflies in there, causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Curse Donnie and his alpha voice. Noticing his behavior, Don’s eyes smoothly slithered from watching the road to staring at Leo. “The slowed and reverb version.” God have mercy on him.

The song started, melody sultry and lyrics full of innuendos. “Donnie, just fucking tell me already.” To hide the fact that Leo was _extremely_ horny, he said in the most aggressive way possible. 

“Fine,” Don finally gave in. About time he does, or else Leo would’ve punched his face. “This car is my lecturer’s— _was_ , actually.”

Unpleasant accusations popped up in Leo’s mind. “Did you sleep with your rich lecturer to get this car?”

“What? No, what made you think—” They were slowing down for a red light and Donnie turned his body slightly to face Leo, expression in disbelief. “No, I won a bet and this car is the prize.”

“Oh,” There was relieve in his voice, which is something that Don seemed to notice. “What kind of bet?”

“Well, it’s a long story, but there’s this lecturer that’s so fucking corrupt that I almost lost my scholarship. Obviously, I couldn’t afford to lose it, or else I can’t get my master’s degree.” Oh, that’s right, Donnie was studying for a master’s degree since he finished his bachelor’s degree in less than two years. Leo would’ve been impressed if he wasn’t so used of him being a genius. 

“He had so many stolen research papers under his name, which he profited off of, and he created tons of fake projects so that he’d get to steal money from the uni. At first, I didn’t really care because it didn’t affect me at all,” he scoffed, eyes dark and lips forming into a half-smirk as his foot pressed into the gas pedal. “But that motherfucker had the audacity to call me a fraud for finishing my bachelor’s degree in less than two years. I shut his mouth up by running down through every single one of the materials that I learned in those two years.”

Leo listened silently as Donnie told the story, but a part of his mind couldn’t stop thinking of how hot Donnie looked like while he was driving. “I was so mad that he tried to call me out that I ended up collecting every single evidence of his corruption. Every. Single. One. Leo. But before that, I also offered him a bet that if I could expose his corruption with fully valid evidences in two months, I’d get his car and he’d resign from his position. If I lost, I offered him my help in covering his corruptions and I’d help him get even more money, without no traces at all, that is. Basically, I offered myself to be his partner in crime, except I get no share at all.” He glanced at the clock and noticed how they were running out of time and sped up, but he kept his cool, despite the speeding he was doing. 

“So yeah, obviously, I won. I did it in a month and two weeks. I even had him sign a physical contract and everything.” So, that’s what he’s been doing for the last month staying over at his university? Collecting evidences? He sounded so proud that Leo couldn’t even get mad at him. “That’s how I got this car while kicking that bastard out of my college. Oh, and I customized some things here and there, like adding my own AI I call Shelldon.” Like a child showing off his toy, he said.

“Mhm...” Leo mindlessly hummed, his mind still settled on Donnie’s exposed collarbones. 

Don smirked once he noticed that Leo’s drooling over his collarbones. To tease him, Donnie pretended to feel hot and fanned himself by pulling and releasing the collar of his shirt. “My eyes are up here.”

Leo gasped, realizing that Don had been staring at him for the past minute. He frowned, turning his head towards the car window to watch the scenery outside. “I know. I just- I just dazed out.”

The lie was so obvious, since Leo didn’t even try at all, and Donnie chuckled breathily. “You’re so cute—” _Ah, fuck._ Don covered his mouth with his hand and it was clear that he didn’t mean to say it.

“Pft,” Leo only sneered, his eyes still looking out the window. He was so, so tempted to tease him and get into their usual banter, but he was also sure that one of them would kiss the other to make the either one of them shut up. And he wasn’t ready for another kiss after the one he received the night before. If they kissed again, Leo would only ask for more, and he really doesn’t want to get drunk on Don’s kiss anymore. He’s got bigger problem to get drunk on and to spend his sleepless night thinking of, instead of Donatello.

Still, he couldn’t deny that Don looked so fucking tempting that he could devour him then and there. His hand against the leather gear stick, with his thumb constantly stroking the etched letters on top of the shaft, circling, teasing. If only that was Leo’s cock. Fuck, getting a hand job inside the car sounded so sexy, he assumed that his moan would distract Donnie so much that he won’t be able to focus on the road. The risk of crashing would thrill him even more. Or, he could give Donnie a hand job instead, making his precum drip to the expensive leather seat, edging him to the point that he’d grip on the steering wheel so hard like he’s holding onto his dear life.

Leo licked his lips. If only he could do that right now, it would’ve been so perfect. Hearing Don beg and whimper while he tries to focus driving, breaking him to the point that he’d do anything to cum. He wanted to hear Donnie scream his name when he orgasms, hips buckling up for friction as his cum spurt out, the milky sperm of his getting all over the thousands of dollar car interior, dripping everywhere. Then, he’d get punished by having to lick the liquid off of Donnie’s clothes. God, please. Donnie using his alpha voice to get what he wants would sound so erotic.

His pants were getting tighter. If only that wasn’t an imagination, it would’ve been such a motivation for him to study. Or it’d have the opposite effect and just distract him from his classes. Either way, he would’ve been happy to do anything sexual with Donnie. 

“We’re here.” The car suddenly stopped and true enough, they arrived in front of Leo’s school. 

Leo swallowed the lump of desire stuck in his throat. “Right. Thanks, D.” He thanked Donnie as he pushed the door open, walking out the car.

“See you at three.” Donnie said right before Leo closed the door, and it wasn’t enough time for Leo to ask him about what he meant because he drove off right away. Was Donnie saying he’d pick Leo up after school? Because it seemed like he did.

He arrived in class on time right before the bell rang. Entering his class room, he passed by some of his friends to give them high-fives and custom handshakes they made. Then, one of his friends suddenly wished him a happy birthday, which confused him. Of course, he forgot his own “birthday”.

It’s his “birthday” with quotation marks since it wasn’t actually his birthday. His origins of birth were unknown, so his ex-parents had to decide his birthday on their own, which is his “official” birthday date. But ever since Donnie came into the family, they started celebrating their birthdays together on Donnie’s actual birthday to cut off budget and make it simpler. Leo didn’t mind at all since the birthday date his parents gave him isn’t real anyways, so since then, he always tells people that his birthday is on the same day of Donnie’s birthday. Their actual birthdays are only a few days apart anyways, so it really wasn’t a big deal.

So that’s what Donnie meant by seeing him at three. Maybe he wanted to pick him up so they can celebrate together right after school? It’s been a while since they celebrated together, so Leo thought it’d be nice if they do celebrate their birthdays together again like old times.

* * *

School ended and Leo walked out the building to find the same Mercedes he rode in the morning parked near the entrance. Or was it? It might be a different car. The windows are so dark, he was unsure if it’s actually the same car since he couldn’t peek inside. Thoughts of things he could do in that car with Donnie behind those dark windows popped up in his head. No, Leo, stop. What the fuck.

He shook his head and strode towards the car, and when he stood next to the passenger’s door, it automatically opened. Entering the car, he found Donnie inside with a smile plastered on his face. It was so sincere that Leo couldn’t help but also smile at him. He looked so ecstatic, unlike how he usually looked. His frowning lips turned into a bright smile, furrowed eyebrows relaxed with no strain, and just generally his whole posture changed. Leo was glad that Donnie is happy, but it was just so out of place and unusual, especially after their small fight last night.

“How was school?” Donnie asked, his hand moving the gear stick as he drove away from the school’s parking lot. There was something unnerving about him acting like Leo’s dad, asking his day at school and picking him up and all.

Leo hummed, recalling all the events that happened at school earlier. “Nothing happened, really. Just usual school stuff,” he replied. “Now it’s my turn to ask. What happened to make you look so happy?”

“What? I can’t be happy on our birthday?” Still having eyes on the road, Don asked. It was weird that he remembered his and Leo’s birthday because in the past, he always showed indifference towards the date.

“You don’t usually remember birthdays.” Leo raised a brow ridge skeptically. “Remember on our seventeenth birthday? When you didn’t come home for the night even though Raph bought us cake and food for our birthday? We waited the whole night for you and we fell asleep on the couch.” That’s right, Don missed his own birthday because of his insane college schedule and he came back the next morning with the dumbest expression on his face ever, asking why they had so many foods on the dining table. The fucking guy can remember every mathematic formula to ever exist and can’t even remember birthdays.

As for Leo, he’s the type to remember his brother’s birthdays but his own. At least he always comes home for the celebration even if he forgets. Sometimes, if he had the money and time, he’d buy them gifts like clothes, gift cards, and there was even a time when he bought Mikey a new skateboard for his birthday. In conclusion, he’s better at birthdays than Donnie is. Today was an exception, though, since last night was such a mess that his brain couldn’t spare a space for birthdays.

Suddenly, hearing what Leo had said, his smile turned into an uncomfortable and apologetic frown. “God, Leo, I already said that I was sorry. It’s just that I had to finish a research for—”

“Donnie, I get it. I was just joking.” Ah fuck, why did he have to ruin his mood by bringing that up. The atmosphere shifted from joyful to awkward. “Okay, now, D, wanna tell me why you’re so happy?” Leo tried to lighten the atmosphere again, giving Donnie the widest smile that he could possibly made.

“Oh, right.” The frown on Don’s face turned into a soft smile again, which made Leo sigh in relief. “I want to show you something, Leo. As a birthday present.” His eyes glanced to meet Leo’s and he had shown the gentlest gaze ever. He looked so earnest and so vulnerable. “You will be the first person in our family to see this.”

It made Leo’s heart flutter. So that’s why he looked so giddy? Because he prepared a birthday present for Leo? Okay, maybe Donnie can be cute sometimes, although most of the time, he’s an emotionless motherfucker. “You prepared me a birthday present?” He giggled softly, his eyes never leaving Donnie. 

“It’s also for our family, but,” He nibbled on his lower lip nervously. His gaze suddenly turned melancholic and full of tenderness, “it’s mostly for you.”

What he just said rendered Leo speechless. The only action that could show his appreciation and convey his feelings at the same time was kissing Donnie, but obviously, he couldn’t, so he placed his hand on top of Donnie’s on the steering wheel. His smile was so wide that his face hurts, and tears pooled in his eyes. Has Donatello finally accepted his human side and chose feelings over his icy cold logic?

Donnie’s eyes widen at the gesture. “Leo?”

“You’re so thoughtful.” Leo released his hand, giving the back of Don’s hand a small, loving stroke with his thumb for the last time before he did. “Who would’ve thought that the heartless Donatello could show affection?” He teased, before the atmosphere turn sappy. He doesn’t want to cry over this; he wanted to remember this memory with laughs and happy emotions.

“Come on,” Donnie rolled his eyes playfully, going along with Leo’s energy. “it’s your eighteenth birthday, so it _has_ to be something very special.”

“What, a hotel room for the two of us?” In a sultry and sensual voice, Leo asked as a joke.

The joke made Donnie scoff, “Oh, it’s way better than a hotel room, Leo.” His voice was dropping lower, and like before, he tried to match Leo’s energy by playing along with the joke. 

“What could possibly beat a night at a hotel with you?” Leo was trying to push the boundaries of their suggestive jokes, he wondered if he could go further and turn the jokes into something serious and real. 

Donnie missed a beat of the conversation, seemingly thinking of a good reply to Leo’s evocative joke. He hummed, “A night at a love hotel? No, something even better, _two_ nights at a love hotel.”

Leo’s cheeks warmed, hearing their suggestive banter turn into something very forward. “God, Donnie, at least make it less obvious that you’re horny for me.”

“Is it too obvious?” Leo’s heart skipped a beat once again. “Should I tone it down?”

“Stop before I suck your cock.” The warning sounded more like a reward than something threatening. Don licked his lips when he gazed over to Leo. “The car interior looks so nice; it’d be too bad if we dirty it.” He glided his finger on the shiny dashboard suggestively, leaving a trail of fingerprints. 

Leo noticed that Donnie’s grip on the steering wheel had tightened, and his jaw was slightly tensed due to the teasing he gave Don. “I know a good carwash near our home, don’t worry.” Not giving in to the tension, the soft-shelled replied again. Usually, in the past, if the suggestive jokes had gone too far to the point that they’re not suggestive anymore, Donnie would drop it. But now, Leo could see that he’s grown some balls and continued the rally of sexual jokes between them.

“We wouldn’t need a carwash if I swallowed—” The sudden stopping of the car almost threw Leo forward, but thank the gods he had seatbelt on. “Donnie, what the fuck.” It was getting so good; Leo was ticked off that Don had to ruin it. That thick tension could’ve turned into something physical, but he just threw it out the window just like that.

“I’m sorry, Leo.” He inhaled a deep breath before turning his head to meet Leo’s eyes. “But we’re here.” When he was looking into Don’s usually lifeless eyes, he saw a tinge of anxiety and worry mixing into one. 

“We are?” Leo asked, following Donnie out the car to be greeted with a moderately large-sized house.

Don stood still in front of the driveway of the house, his gaze far away into the distance, like he was reliving memories. The house had a garden that looked abandoned, looking from the overgrown grasses and weed manifestations. It was made of dark wood and white bricks, styled with a mix of classic, family home style and modern architecture. It had overgrown vines crawling on some parts of the walls with wide windows in front of the house. When Leo looked around, he realized that they were surrounded with similarly styled houses. This was a rich suburbs type of place.

“This is my present?” Leo didn’t want to disturb Donnie and whatever he was thinking about with such sad eyes, but he was thoroughly confused and he needed an explanation.

Donnie flinched, like he just realized that Leo was next to him. “Mm, follow me.” He didn’t answer the question and walked towards the home instead. Ugh, he does this all the time, but Leo followed closely anyway.

They stepped up to the porch, stepping on dried leaves and branches scattered on the ground. The corners of said porch were collecting dust and cobwebs, looking like it’s been abandoned for a very long time. Donnie unlocked the door and it swung open, revealing the spacious inside of the house. It looked like a very nice house, but the interiors were all covered with a layer of plastic, protecting the seemingly expensive furniture from dust. There was a cabinet near the entrance and on the cabinet were pictures of a family of three mutant turtles. A cheerful looking woman, a man who resembled Donnie, and a very familiar looking child. 

“My mom inherited this place to me, and they didn’t change a single thing when I moved out.” When Donnie said that, Leo understood that the present wasn’t the house. It was Donnie’s memories and his vulnerability. He was giving Leo the side of himself that he’s always been ashamed of; his family, his past. Leo already knew the story of how and why his family fell apart from how much Donnie talked shit about his dad in the past, constantly shitting on him and his mistress, but this, this was something deeper and entirely new to him.

“This time, it’s my turn to say it.” Donnie turned his body to face Leo, the sadness in his eyes only getting more noticeable. “Welcome home, Leo.”


	7. Reliving The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAA this chapter is so cheesy I can't write hurt/comfort for the life of me but like it's important to the plot so... uh...... yeah.
> 
> This chapter contains mentions of/implied abuse and suicide  
> I also updated the summary of this story just to make it fit better

“Welcome home, Leo.”

Leo genuinely didn’t know what he was supposed to say at that moment. Should he comfort him? Did he even need comfort at that time? Was he supposed to just stay quiet? What was Donnie thinking about? His expression was unreadable; a mix and fusion of multiple emotions that Leo couldn’t identify. Shit. Leo was doing his thing of reading too much into a situation. He should really stop doing that, especially when it’s about Donatello, because beneath those layers of unfeeling coldness, he was actually a pretty simple person. Emotionally, that is.

The red slider was afraid of giving the wrong response. To see such side of Donnie that he’s finally revealing was something he should respond to with care, like handling a fragile glass. And he was not about to miss this opportunity of fully understanding his closed off genius brother. He remembered that he said those words to Donnie when he first came into the family and he remembered that it made the soft-shelled turtle bawl his eyes out. He just never thought that it would impact Donnie this much.

Stop thinking about it. You said it yourself that Donnie is a simple person. 

A soft smile bloomed across his face, and without thinking much further, he replied, “I’m home, Donnie.”

His own answer made him realize something. What he said towards Donnie a few years ago was him welcoming his new brother into the family, accepting him as one of his own. So, does that mean...? 

The thought made Leo’s heart flutter.

Without saying anything, Donnie took another step into the house, the sound of his shoes against the marble floor was crisp, echoing through the inhabitable house. The inside of it was grander than Leo thought. A grand piano, priceless paintings, million dollars of furniture, carpets that looked like they belonged to a palace, and a backyard with a large, dried-up swimming pool. It was everything that Leo could’ve asked for, yet, why does it feel like his chest was hollow. So empty.

There was a large, grand painting in the middle of the living room wall, hanging gloriously as if it was in an art exhibition. Donnie approached the painting and his hand slid into the small gap between the painting and the wall. He reached far into there, and stopped once his expression turned tense. He retracted his hand and revealed a beautiful dagger with a handle made of glass and silver intricate flower patterns. The blade wasn’t dull, despite being kept hidden behind there for years and it was as deadly as it was beautiful. It reminded him of Donnie, somehow. 

Without touching the blade, you would know that it was sharp just by looking at it, but Donnie pressed his fingertip against the end of the blade, causing Leo to gasp in surprise. Sure enough, he drew blood, but Don himself looked so calm that Leo couldn’t help but just stare, knowing that if it wasn’t intentional, he wouldn’t have touched it. Soon, his blood soaked the blade of the dagger, flowing down to the handle made of glass, filling the vial-like dagger handle with the red liquid. It must’ve hurt, but Donnie didn’t flinch, not even once.

Unhinged by his own wound, the soft-shelled turtle pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned the blade of the dagger, along with his blood-soaked finger. He pressed against the wound to stop the bleeding while holding the handkerchief there, then proceeded to lift the dagger into the air, inspecting his own blood inside the glass dagger handle. It was pretty, looking like a high-end morbid ornament that rich people would usually buy to show off their wealth. 

“My mom kept this dagger there in case she wanted to off herself right away. This dagger can contain the blood of the person that it pierced.” Donnie suddenly started, and Leo knew where the conversation was going immediately. “Obviously, she didn’t use it. But she said if she ever did use it, she wanted me to keep the blood-filled dagger by my side at all times, so that if I wanted to kill myself like she did, we’d be immortalized together in here.”

Leo had a feeling that his perception of Donnie’s loving mother who was a victim of an affair would change after he exited the house. Telling your child to keep a dagger that you used to stab yourself... is not what a normal mother would say to her child (obviously). Leo might not have the most loving mother, but he knew what the bare minimums are. Surprise, there was something deeper behind the whole story; he should’ve seen it coming. Leo kept quiet, slowly walking around the room as his hand glide over the dust  
coated drawers and cabinets. He blew the stacked dust on his fingertip to the source of light, creating puffs of particles in the air.

“I’d like to say that my dad’s action was justified, but it really wasn’t.” The bitterness in Donnie’s voice turned poisonous, “Especially when he was the one who made her snap and give in to her... tendencies.” He spun the dagger around in his good hand skillfully as the blood inside bubbled from the extreme movements. “But at the same time, I kind of understand why he’d want to get away from her. As you can see from this dagger, she was a very, how do I say this, unique person.”

Yes, a very unique person, I can see that, Leo parroted silently in his head. 

Donnie placed the dagger on a tiny display with matching flower designs. _Grotesque_ was the only word that came up in Leo’s mind when he saw that Donnie actually intended to put the dagger on display, but it was indeed pretty. For a person with emotionless passion, Donnie sure does have a very passionate color for his blood. It was a beautiful shade of red, glistening inside the glass vial, and Leo should really stop paying attention to that dagger or else he might start to develop a new kink.

“Leo, follow me,” And Donnie walked out the living room, heading towards the stairs and walked up. Like usual, Leo followed him mindlessly, questioning nothing. 

From behind, Donatello looked so large, yet so small. The memories entering his mind must be weighing him so much that he had to hunch. “Donnie, you’re not... you’re not okay right now.” Leo said as he ascended the wooden stairs along with his brother. 

The soft-shelled didn’t even bother to turn around and give a response, his stride stable with no signs of stopping. Once they were upstairs, a long, wide corridor greeted them. Donnie walked into a room at the end of the hallway and stopped there, his body covering the view of the room itself. Curious, Leo peeked from behind him and found a grand master bedroom with a king-sized bed and over-the-top decorations. However, behind those glamours were hidden disturbing things.

After looking around for a few seconds, he noticed the small writings on the walls, the pieces of razors sticking out from the bed sheets, the splatters of blood on the carpet, the shards of broken glass on the marbled floor, the scattered pills on the bed, and the half-empty bottles of expensive wine on the bedside table. Even without asking Donnie how all of those things happen in the first place, deep down he knew that it wasn’t something his father did.

It was his mother.

Donnie stood tall by the room entrance, but the slight tremble of his fingers said it all. Leo brushed his own fingers against his, silently asking for permission, and when Donnie’s lithe finger twitch against the touch, Leo intertwined their digits together. The air was humid and rather hot, yet Don’s fingertips were as cold as ice. He held Don’s hand tighter, his thumb circling reassuringly on top of the back of Donnie’s hand. At that moment, Donatello had nobody else besides Leo.

“If she,” Don tried to choke out. It looked like it was hard for him to breathe, and Leo waited patiently. “If she— she loved me, then why did she...” He had bitten his lip so hard to held his tears back. “why did she do those things to me? She left me to choose between dying with her and living as an orphan.” The sob he cried out was heart-wrenching that Leo shed a tear for him. He cried more, breathing so irregular that he gasped for air a couple of times. The only thing Leo could do was whisper comforts and empty promises with the hope that it would make him feel better. 

When was the last time Donnie cried this much, again? Leo went back in time.

It was the day of their dad’s funeral. Raph was holding a wailing Mikey in his embrace, and Leo was crying his heart out, kneeling by the coffin as Raph did his best to comfort him by stroking his free hand on Leo’s shoulder, even when he was crying himself. However, Donnie... he was _silent_. His expression remained indifferent, detached. He just stared down at the coffin like it was just another sight he’d encounter in their day-to-day life.

It made Leo furious. He understood that Splinter wasn’t the best father in the whole world, he understood that Donnie could feel contempt from the way he acted irresponsibly, and he understood that Splinter could’ve tried harder for their sake. But he was the only person who willingly took them in, even with the money. After they found out that he didn’t even take a penny out of Donnie’s inheritance money, Leo was fuming. They fought at the funeral, screaming at each other like the children that they were.

Splinter gave them home when no one else wanted them, and Leo _knew_ that even a heartless bastard like Donnie could comprehend that. Yet he gazed at their father’s body like it was nothing, like it was so irrelevant to his life. His remaining affection towards Donnie had dropped immensely on that day. 

Then, night came.

Leo woke up after he fell asleep in the middle of crying to the sound of small sobs and soft hiccups. He assumed it was Mikey, since Raph’s cries couldn’t sound so soft and _tender_ , but then, his room was far enough from Raph and Mikey’s that he was sure he wouldn’t be able to hear them cry. His gaze wandered to the wall that separated him and Donatello. A shiver went down his spine. Could it be?

Leo placed his feet ever so gently on the ground, getting out of his bed while he kept in mind that Donnie had alpha senses. He tiptoed to the wall and pressed his head against it to confirm his suspicions. 

He was right; the cries belonged to none other than Donnie himself. The immense guilt whirling in his chest almost caused Leo physical pain. He just screamed and yelled at his brother very unkind things like calling him a monster, a heartless son of a bitch, cold bastard, and so many more hurtful nicknames. Yet there he was, crying in his room alone with no one to share the burden with. Leo wanted to rush into his room, hug him and give him the warmest embrace that he could ever give, but he couldn’t. Not after the accusations he threw towards Donnie. Not after breaking his heart like that.

Leo exhaled slowly, releasing the pent-up stress he put on his chest from the guilt he bore. He stayed still next to the wall for a few minutes, taking in every silent calls Donnie uttered towards their father, every single sniffle and trembling breath. Such a cold bastard with a burning core, Donnie was. He wondered if that core inside of him could burn the ice inside out and melt him, turning the cold, icy statue into an animated living being.

Leo had leaned his body to the wall for support, but he was so sleepy that his head thumped against the wall accidentally when he felt drowsy for a moment. He gasped, hoping that a miracle would happen and Donnie wouldn’t hear his tiny mistake. He did.

“I know you’re there, Leo.” Donnie switched to his unfeeling mask so quick. Quicker than Leo could ever possibly pull up his people-pleaser mask. “Don’t act dumb.”

“I’m sorry.” Was all that left Leo’s mouth. “I’m sorry, Donnie.” What better words could he say? 

“Don’t be.” His tone of speaking turned flatter and flatter. “Just pretend you didn’t hear anything. Easy, right?” A sarcastic chuckle followed the sentence. “After all, I’m an emotionless, heartless, ice cold monster.”

“That’s, that’s not what I meant.” That was exactly what Leo meant.

“Forget it, Leo.” He heard shuffling from Donnie’s side of the room. “Just go to sleep. Save your energy for school.”

And Leo went back to Donnie’s childhood home, his hand holding Don’s trembling hand.

“Leo, it— it hurts so bad,” Donnie gasped for air once more, clenching his chest tightly as his knees gave up, making him kneel on the ground. “Please, stop it, please...” Leo also knelt, his hands protectively placed on Donnie’s soft shell and he clutched him tight like what Raph would’ve done if he was there. He’d make sure that his crying brothers would feel the love he felt for them, letting them know that they’re not alone and that they’re worthy of love.

One of his hand then moved up to the back of Donnie’s head to gently pull him so that his face would fit perfectly on the crook of Leo’s neck. He made sure that Donnie knew he had a pillar to lean to. Then, he placed small pecks and kisses on top of his head, each kiss meaningful. “Donnie, baby, I know, it’s okay. I’m here.” It was true; he knew how it felt like to be abandoned. He finally fully understood Donnie’s struggle and why he chose to hide all of those things from him. He was glad that Donnie had poured all of those emotions he never expressed.

Leo glanced over to the bed again when something out of place caught his attention, noticing how there were two different shades of blood there. One is similar to the color Donnie had shed earlier due to the dagger. His hands tightened around Donnie, his sense of protectiveness spiking up once images of what his mom could’ve done to him pop into his mind. _Sick fuck._

Donnie might be an alpha through and through, a genius that made inventions of the century, a cold, unfeeling bastard, but behind all those layers, he was still the small eleven-year-old child that Leo met at the dojo. With his scrawny build and freakishly big glasses. Afraid, anxious, small, needing his mother’s protection and gentle embrace, even if his mother was somewhat different from other conventional mothers. The way he didn’t want to change anything in his old home showed that he still hasn’t grown up, still holding on to the past that he could never change. 

On the other hand, Leo never felt true affection from his parents, so he wouldn’t know how it would feel to lose them. He knew what he wanted and what he needed, what he yearned for. But Donnie didn’t. He blindly tried to feel around with his hand, walking around in the dark without knowing what he was missing. And when his mom started to give in to her “tendencies”, as Donnie said, he must’ve felt so scared and lost. The pillar that had supported him suddenly crumbled in front of his eyes, telling him that she wanted to end it all. Not to mention that his dad was never in the picture.

God, Leo had always known that the relationships of rich families are always so complex and difficult to dissect, like the ones in dramas, but to get involved in one is a whole different scenario.

He ran his hand back and forth on Donnie’s back. He was so soft and fragile. He didn’t have the hard shell that Leo and his brother had always possessed, and he always knew that deep down, Donnie felt insecure. But Leo didn’t mind if his brother was physically weaker; it was nothing to be ashamed of. He held his purple banded brother in his hands with loving touch and handled him as if he was one of the glass ornaments in the living room. 

“Sometimes she’d hug me and ki- kiss me,” Donnie started again, his little hiccup interrupting the sentence he had worked so hard to utter. “Other times, she’d stare down at me like I was... like I didn’t matter. She’d call me a carbon copy of my dad and—” His shoulder tensed again as he relived the buried memories. “And she’d... she’d try to hurt me, then a moment later she would say sorry and, and—” He was struggling so much to get the word out of his mouth that he stuttered and jumbled on his own words.

Leo couldn’t imagine the physical pain Donnie felt at the moment due to the contracting muscles in his chest as he cried. “Donnie... it’s okay. Don’t force yourself.” It was more to save himself from heartache, really. He couldn’t bear to imagine little Donnie get hurt and abused; it would just crush him completely. “Just let your emotions out.”

After a few minutes, the wailing cries from Donnie had died down into small sniffles and hiccups. Leo hadn’t noticed it earlier, but Don’s hands were clawing into the either side of Leo’s clothes like he was holding onto his dear life. It’s probably because the physical pain in his chest was so unbearable. “Breathe, Don. Breathe.”

Donnie did as he was told and just _breathed_. He never felt so relieved. It was like getting a new set of lungs; he breathed way easier, and every breath he took didn’t hurt. He didn’t feel guilty to be alive, for the first time in forever. He felt grateful. He felt good. He felt like his existence was justified and that he deserved to live, after years of thinking about the way his mother urged him to give in to suicide.

Slowly, Leo released Donnie from his embrace to look into his eyes. “Donnie, you’re finally home.” He exhaled shakily, his tears almost falling down his cheeks again. “Finally. You’re finally home.” Once again, he sobbed out. 

Donnie tried to form a weak smile, “I am. I’m home, Leo.”

And Leo leaned in, closing his eyes as their lips touch. It felt similar to when they were kissing for the first time, with Donnie hesitating and acting as if he was testing the waters. This kind of kiss was the one that Leo missed the most. The kiss was so honest and naked, no fake emotions and pretty lies, just them simply _existing_ as they kiss. In the middle of the kiss, Leo could tell that Donnie had shed another tear when he tasted the wet, saltiness of it in his mouth. He hummed into the kiss, feeling the most content in the last few years.

As they pull away, Donnie mouthed an almost inaudible “thank you,” and it was inexplicably adorable.

* * *

The ride home wasn’t awkward, unlike what Leo had imagined it to be. They just sat in comfortable silence as the song from the radio plays in the background. Donnie still had little hiccups here and there, and his eyes were so red that they had to stop at a public  
restroom for Donnie to wash his face. Mikey and Raph finding out that he was crying and worrying about him was the last thing he wanted to happen. In the middle of the way, they also stopped at some restaurants to get some takeout. Donnie said he wanted to make up for last year’s birthday by getting them food. It wasn’t much, but it was a sweet gesture and Leo appreciated that. They even bought a small cake and made sure that it was Mikey’s favorite flavor as a way to celebrate his presenting.

What Leo was slightly bothered with is the fact that Donnie went back to his usual cold act. He thought that Donnie would at least be somewhat warmer, but he just reverted back to normal like he didn’t just bawl his eyes out half an hour ago. It bothered Leo a lot, actually, but he decided against asking him about it because Don seemed like he was in a good mood and they were in good terms. He didn’t want to ruin it.

When they arrived in front of their apartment, Donnie’s expression turned sour. “Oh god.” He muttered out, nose scrunching in disgust.

Obviously, Leo was confused. He looked back and forth between their apartment and his brother. “Are you okay?”

Donnie seemed like he was debating whether he should tell Leo or not. “It’s... ugh, pheromones.” An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “The whole apartment probably smells like sex right now.”

_Right... Mikey and Raph._

“Is that,” Leo cleared his throat awkwardly. “Is that going to affect you in any way?”

“Probably not, but you know...” Yeah, Leo totally got it. It won’t be easy to look them in the eyes without cringing when they basically had a sign over their heads that says “We just had sex”.

“Okay, um, they’re not still going at it right now, right?” Leo’s eyes went up and down the apartment door, afraid of what’s going on behind it. “Because if they are, then I’d rather sleep outside tonight.”

Biting his lip, Donnie hesitantly replied, “I don’t hear any weird sounds, so we should be good? I think?”

“Okay, great.” Walking in on Raph and Mikey doing... the thing would be a nightmare, but they had so many foods that they brought home and they weren’t about to waste those. Leo carefully unlocked the door and pushed the door open. It seemed that the pheromones wafted out from inside once he opened the door because Donnie instantly looked like he was about to die.

“Mikey? Raph?” Leo called out as he walked into the apartment and...

“Surprise!” They both yelled out from the kitchen. Raph and Mikey were sitting on the dining table with a slightly botched birthday cake sitting atop the table and they had smiles plastered across their faces. “Happy birthday guys!!”

The smell of sex appeared to still bother Donnie, but he stretched out the widest smile he could create. Leo too, was still bothered by the thought of his brothers having sex, but he was also smiling. “Aw, you guys made this cake yourselves?” Leo asked, his hands putting the bags of food on the dining table along with Donnie.

Raph and Mikey looked at each other proudly and Leo noticed that the omega was practically glowing. “Yep! I baked the cake and Raph decorated it.” Oh, that’s why the cake looked slightly _off_. The taste must be amazing though.

“You guys bought all of these?” Raph looked at all the assortments of food presented on the table in awe, his mouth was literally watering. 

“Yeah, we bought a cake for Mikey too.” Donnie replied, his eyes hovering towards Mikey. “Since you presented yesterday. Congrats, Mikey.”

Excitedly, Mikey unwrapped the box from the bakery. “It’s my favorite flavor too!”

“Of course, it is, Mikey. I chose it.” Leo bragged as he sat down next to Raph while Donnie sat across him. “Donnie could **never**.”

Hearing the slander upon his name, Donnie protested, “Hey! Watch it.”

“Mmm, it’s true though.” He joked again while his hands collected different types of food onto his plate. “Tell me, what’s Raph’s favorite food?”

“I don’t know, Mikey’s ass—?” He just had to blurt that out.

“Donnie!” Mikey blushed hard, his hands punching Donnie’s arm playfully meanwhile poor Raphael almost choked on his noodles. The whole family laughed at the sight of it.

“Okay, okay, guys.” Leo tried to shift the attention to him, his laugh slowly fading out but his smile stayed. “Donnie and I had a discussion on our way home.”

They all instantly fell silent, waiting for Leo to continue talking. Donnie and Leo shared a look and nodded at each other. “After school I stopped by Donnie’s old house, and we were wondering if you guys are okay with moving there?”

Their brothers’ eyes widen at the word “house”. “A house? Like, a house _house_?” Raph asked in disbelief.

“Yep, a house that’s big enough for us.” Leo shifted his eyes towards both Raph and Donnie. “Big enough for two alphas, so you guys won’t need hormone inhibitors, at least, not every month.”

Right, the only thing keeping them away from each other’s necks is the inhibitor shots that they both take every month. Usually, alphas would try to keep their territories by fighting each other to assert dominance, or even if they don’t, they’d be super sensitive around each other. Obviously, in such a small apartment, Donnie and Raph would need to have great self-control if they don’t want to end in bloodshed, because their very high levels of hormones would force them to fight each other. So, Donnie had to keep their energy levels in check by giving Raph and himself inhibitor shots every month.

The inhibitor shot wouldn’t be strong enough to block their alpha senses, but it would be strong enough to suppress their aggressiveness and territorial tendencies. It also makes them infertile, although there’s a small chance that they’d still be able to impregnate an omega, if the omega is fertile enough. The shots also would make their scents less prominent, so if any of them marked or scented any omega, it wouldn’t be effective to fend off any other alphas. And with Mikey presenting, Leo was sure that Raph was itchy to mark him.

“What do you think?” Leo finalized, waiting for their input.

“I mean, do you have any pictures of the house?” Raph asked. Yeah, it would make sense to show them the house first, so Leo pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened his gallery to show some pictures he took of the house.

Upon looking at a picture of a swimming pool, Mikey gasped. “A pool? This big?”

“Ooh! The garage is big!”

“How many rooms are there inside this massive house?”

“The TV is bigger than a cinema screen, holy shit.”

“Donnie you lived here? Damn rich kid.”

“We should’ve moved there years ago.”

“Guys look, there’s a balcony!”

“I call dibs on this room!”

Instantly, they were bombarded by questions and comments from Raph and Mikey. “So, we’re moving next month?”

“Next month? We’re moving in _tonight_!” Mikey exclaimed, too excited about their new house.

“There’s some things that needs to be cleaned.” Donnie stated firmly, the images of his mother’s room coming back to his mind. “It’s important that we get it cleaned first, so don’t try to confront me.”

Knowing how stubborn Mikey can’t be, looking from the way he was pouting, Leo joined in. “Yeah, Donnie’s getting a team of people to clean up the mess. We also need to sort some papers and stuff.”

“I get your excitement, Mikey. The house looks great, it’s everything I could ever ask for.” Raph suddenly said, his brows furrowing. “But I think I need some time to say goodbye to this place.” His eyes drooped down to the ground, remembering the memories they had in that small apartment.

Leo looked around the place. The floor is creaky, the bathroom sink leaks a lot, the wallpapers are peeling off, the walls are thin, and you can hear noisy cars passing by whenever you try to sleep. It was not the ideal living condition ever, and getting a bigger house was such a blessing, but what Raph said made Leo’s heart ache. He first found the true meaning of family in that apartment, they all found each other there, grew up there, had ups and downs, and Leo wasn’t ready to leave all of that behind. He glanced at the couch in the living room, remembering the night he and Donnie first kissed.

It was so naïve. That kiss led them to whatever their relationship is currently, and the worst part is that Leo didn’t regret it. If he was given a chance to go back and resist Donnie’s kiss, he wouldn’t. He would only kiss him harder, even if Mikey walked in. He would immediately tell Don what he felt at that moment, and ask if they can sort their feelings out. He wouldn’t take back every kiss that they shared in the past, not even one of the many kisses that they had.

Leaving the apartment would be hard, but staying would be harder. They were all growing up, and they can’t keep living in the past. Especially with having two alphas in the family. Sooner or later, things are going to change as they slowly turn into adults, and it’s inevitable that they change, whether it’s about their behavior or relationship. They all needed space, private space. And the house was the perfect place to give them just that. It had more than enough rooms for them to sleep, and much more empty spaces for them to breathe. Suddenly, Leo felt a tug on his foot, and he looked down to see Donnie’s toe brushing against his. His eyes instantly went to meet Donnie’s and they looked as if they were saying that “It’s okay”. His gaze looked so intense and dark. Leo nodded, giving Don a small smile to tell him that he got what he meant.

It’s okay.


	8. (Un)expected Turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: attempted sexual assault, mentions of rape, and on page violence.
> 
> Very messy chapter. Might fix it later

A month passed in a blink of an eye and it was finally time to move in. Leaving the apartment made him shed a tear. It was a step towards adulthood, a push that he needed to move forward. And for Donnie, it was like erasing the pages of a journal to write new memories over them. They knew they needed that.

When they arrived at the house, Leo noticed that the team of cleaners also redid the dying garden, making the house look more alive. He stepped out of the car and Mikey and Raph immediately ran inside with excitement bundling inside their chests. Donnie scolded them for being noisy, but he himself only stood still in front of the driveway. Leo’s brows furrowed upon the sight. Is he okay?

“Donnie.” The red slider softly tangled his fingers with Donnie’s. 

The turtle flinched, and gave a tired smile to Leo. He also unwrapped their hands, suddenly acting distant. “I’m fine.”

The gesture irritated Leo. After the incident a month ago, he thought Donnie wouldn’t mind more intimate skin ships, but it seems that he didn’t change one bit. “Don’t push me away, Donnie.”

“No, Leo, it’s just that,” He wavered, “You smell... weird.”

Leo took it as an offense, raising a brow. “Excuse me?”

“I meant, ugh, I, you don’t smell _bad_ , you just smell different.” Leo noticed that he had taken a step back from him.

This made Leo remember something that happened to him a day ago. He was packing things with Mikey and Raph, meanwhile Donnie was at his university—like always— to do some college things or something that Leo couldn’t care less about. They were putting their clothes into color coded boxes, and Leo was bringing four stacks of his own stuff into the living room when he tripped on a random box. Raph was there and he caught Leo, grabbing him by the waist.

“Oof, thanks Raph.” Leo immediately got back on his feet, sensing a growing jealousy from a certain orange turtle.

“No problem, bro.” Then he sniffed around, his brows creasing. “Do you smell that?” he asked to both Mikey and Leo.

“Yeah, I smell it. It’s really faint though.” Mikey nodded, agreeing with the bigger turtle.

Omega and Alpha talk. Leo was out of the circle, so he just shrugged. Going back to the future, it made Leo think. Was that him all along? That can’t be. Betas have scents, but they usually come from their perfumes or soaps and they’re less noticeable.

“How do I smell?” Curious, Leo asked. It could be a sign that he was presenting. Something bubbled up in his chest as he silently hoped to be a late bloomer. 

“I don’t know... like,” Donnie tried to search for the word in his head. “Fresh? I guess? Like the ocean.”

It crushed Leo’s hope and also his self-esteem. Is Donnie trying to say that he smelled like a fish? “I’m not a sea turtle, Don.” He rolled his eyes, leaving the other turtle to look at him in a questioning gaze.

If only Donnie said he smelled sweet or earthy, he would’ve had his hopes higher, since those are the most common words associated to describe an alpha or omega’s scent. Usually, omegas would smell sweet, like candies and freshly baked strawberry cupcakes, or vanilla and milk chocolate. Alphas would generally smell masculine, like spices, cinnamon, rosewood, and other scents you’d usually find in the wild. And Leo smelled like... what, fishes? No alpha or omega in this world smell like fishes. Well, Donnie technically said he smelled like the ocean, but we all know what he truly meant.

What Donnie had said made Leo grumpy all day. He became so self-conscious that he had to smell himself every time he hardly sweats, even just a little moisture in his armpit would trigger him to put on a spritz of cologne. Moving in would usually be fun, unpacking things while you joke around with your family, exploring new things in your house, running around the spacious rooms, and checking out every room in the house. It’s usually like that in the movies, but now, he just constantly checks on his own odor and splash cologne on himself.

It wasn’t fun, but they managed to get the job done, somehow. He claimed a room upstairs with a big balcony and the best view from the whole house. It was facing the front of the house, and when you look out, the first thing you can see is the whole residency area, instead of the room Mikey had, which was facing a wall of the house beside theirs. He was late to claim a room, so Leo didn’t feel too bad about it. They promised that whoever claimed the room first could keep it, anyway.

Unpacking in his new room brought him back to when he just got adopted into the Hamato household. He sat alone in the middle of the mostly empty room, rummaging through his box. His chest suddenly stung. He rested his head on the box full of clothes, letting tears drop to the ground. Letting go of the past turned out to be harder than he thought it would be. He felt so foreign in the expansive space, like he was in a stranger’s house, meanwhile when he moved in to their old apartment, he immediately felt like he was home.

He didn’t know what it was, but he felt so touch-starved that day, and he was so, so extremely sensitive to the point that something irrelevant like what Donnie had said about him made him feel self-conscious. Usually, he’d shrug it off or give him another jab of mean comment, but somehow, that day, he _didn’t_. Why? He felt so off, yet he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what made him feel that way. It was getting to him. The only reason he cried was not only because he missed their old place, but also the fact that he was incredibly frustrated at himself. He wanted to scream, while also being held.

He wanted to be spoiled and pampered, to be handled like the most precious thing in the world, but he also wanted to kick and knock out everyone in sight.

Sighing at his own indecisiveness, he stood up and wiped his tears with the sleeves of his jacket. He decided that he needed some fresh air and a really good cup of coffee. The sun was already setting, but he didn’t care. He wanted coffee and fresh air and he wanted it **now.** His own fierceness surprised himself.

He walked out his room, to downstairs, and walking past every brother he met along the way, ignoring their questions, except of course, Donatello. His hand was wrapped around his wrist, tight. “Where are you going?”

“Just leave me alone, Donnie.” Leo tugged his own wrist, snatching it away from his brother’s grasp. “I need to get coffee, damn.”

Donnie’s expression turned into concern as he leans forward, breathing into Leo’s neck. He was so close that Leo could feel his breath against his neck, like a refreshing gust of wind. As he felt the burn in his cheeks, he pushed Donnie away. “Stop.”

“Leo, do you feel anything?” With a puzzled look, Donnie asked.

“I feel like you’re acting like a bitch.” Pushing him away earlier and now getting up his ass? Yeah, no. Leo was receiving his bullshit no more. “Bye,” without waiting for an answer, he strode out from the house with steady steps. He remembered that there was a coffee shop around.

The sun already completely set once he arrived at the coffee shop. It was located in between rows of other shops, like a plaza of shops for the people in the residency area. He entered the small, cozy coffee shop and found a rabbit mutant as the barista. The rabbit greeted him with a gentle smile. “Welcome.”

He also smiled, walking up to the counter. “What would you like to order?” His voice was deep, an alpha’s voice. Leo also felt like he smelled something from him... pheromones? No that couldn’t be it, but he was positive that the mutant in front of him was an alpha, somehow.

“Mm,” he hummed while his eyes scanned the menu board above the barista. “A medium cup of iced caramel macchiato, please.” 

“Iced caramel macchiato coming up.” The barista said as he wrote on the cup. “Anything else?” His smile was incredibly handsome, Leo couldn’t help but blush. What had gotten into him? He doesn’t usually think of other people as attractive, besides Donnie, yet here he was, ready to spread his legs for a random barista?

“No, that’s,” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “That’s all.”

The rabbit looked taken aback for a while, and his expression suddenly turned sultry, like he was reading Leo’s mind. “Okay, then. Please wait for your order until we call on your name, which is...?”

“It’s, Leonardo.” Leo said as he tugged the collar of his turtleneck. Suddenly he could sense the barista’s desire. How? He didn’t understand, but he just knew that the mutant was horny for him.

“Right, sir Leonardo it is.” The barista continued writing and placed the cup on the counter next to him for the other employee to make Leo’s order. “Don’t worry, Leo, it’s on the house.”

Fuck, that was a clear indication that the rabbit was interested in him. He didn’t mind. What? He usually would mind. What is going on with him? Was he so touch starved? His mind was going into an overdrive. “Ah, okay, um, thanks...” Leo read the barista’s nametag, “... Usagi.”

“You’re welcome, Leo.” The way Usagi said his name made him go crazy. 

He only dipped his head once and left the counter to sit next to a window, waiting for his coffee. Then, not long after he sat down, a group of alphas came in to the coffee shop. Again, Leo didn’t know why he could smell them and identify them as alphas, but they wafted so much of testosterone that he had to cover his nose. It was sickening. They all looked like spoiled college kids who think that they’re on top of the world. They also seemed like they play golf, which made Leo barf in his mouth.

They passed by Leo, and one of them looked at him with predatory eyes, whispering to his friend about something that made the friend chuckle. Obviously, Leo glared at them with his most unimpressed eyes. While they were ordering, the news of Leo seemed to spread quick amongst the group and one by one, they glanced towards his direction, not even in a discreet way, like they wanted Leo to know. The group consisted of an alligator mutant, a rhino mutant, a tiger mutant, and two other humans. They all seemed like bad news, and Usagi seemed to notice the situation, from the way he urged his co-worker to prepare his order faster.

“Leonardo.” The co-worker called Leo’s name out and Usagi facepalmed. Had he told the co-worker not to say his name? Well, the human employee said it anyway, covering their mouth with their hand when they saw Usagi’s expression.

Leo collected himself and walked over to the other side of the counter to take his order. He gave Usagi a look of gratification and left the shop shortly. As he reached outside, he exhaled a breath of relieve and walked, until he heard multiple footsteps behind him. He quickened his steps, sensing danger and... what’s that? Someone, no, multiple people are lustful towards him. The danger meter in his head spiked up instantly.

They already left the crowded plaza to a quieter street of inhabited houses when one of them called his name out. “Leonardo! Hey, slow down wouldja’?” His name sounded so dirty coming out of their mouth. He had to swallow a bile of puke back from the uneasiness in his stomach.

“Leon~” Another different voice called out again. “Leo, baby, you smelled so good inside the coffee shop, why run away now?”

No shit, he was horny for Usagi, not them. 

“A pretty boy, unscented and unmarked...” That made Leo pause his steps, but he continued walking. “A virgin omega, on top of that. We’re so lucky tonight, boys.”

The mention of omega made him stop his steps completely. He turned around; expression unhinged. “I’m not an omega. Fuck off.”

They walked closer and closer, closing the distance between them. They all looked incapable of fighting; untrained, unlike Leo. He could take them down easily, but there were five of them. Not to mention that the three of them are mutants, bulky ones, to add to it. His brain scanned the environment for an escape. He was surrounded completely, and the only choice was to fight. To death, if needed to be.

“Not an omega my ass. You smell so fucking good, different from any omega whores out there.” The mutant tiger leaned to smell Leo. “Come on baby, we’re gonna treat you so _so_ good.”

“I told you I’m not an omega.” Leo tilted his head in disgust. “Leave before I break your bones.”

“Aw, this one’s feisty.” The human licked his lips.

“Shut it, human. I can bash your brain out in a minute.” Leo let out a low snarl through his words. “Leave.” He warned for the last time.

“Or what? You’re gonna punch us? Boo hoo.” They mocked.

It was the last straw for Leo. He dropped his caramel macchiato and punched the tiger in front of him, it was so hard that he heard a crack. Damn, he really was angry. The tiger dropped onto the ground, wincing in pain and whining as the other friends of his watched him in surprise. They clearly didn’t expect that. Leo had to whip his wrist a few times to make sure his joint wasn’t dislocated because that punch was one of the hardest that he’d ever thrown.

“Thad beetch fawkin dishlochated my jaw!” The wounded mutant had to support his jaw with his hand, still whining in pain. The way he pronounced the words made Leo snicker devilishly.

The other alphas growled; stances ready to fight. 

“Ohoho... you guys are one feisty bunch.” Leo couldn’t help but to mock back. He was no god damn damsel in distress; he’s Leonardo Hamato, and those alphas messed with the wrong turtle. If he had his bokken, he would’ve finished them so quick they won’t notice it, but for now, his fists would do.

“You whore, don’t act cocky!” The alligator lunged forward, trying to pin Leo on the ground, but the turtle was faster, avoiding him with no effort at all. He elbowed the alligator at the back of the neck and delivered a kick to his stomach to make sure that he’d be incapacitated, at least for a few minutes.

The rhino was going to be a problem, since he was the biggest and bulkiest. Plus, the two other humans looked like they were going to join the fight at the same time. True enough, they went for Leo’s arms, locking both of them with their arms as the rhino delivered a punch to his stomach. It was strong enough that Leo spat saliva, but not fast enough that Leo would get another. He twisted his body, bringing the human holding him to in front of him and shield him from the incoming punch. The rhino ended up punching his own friend, and the human loosened the grip on Leo’s arm.

Freeing his arm, Leo kneed the guy writhing in pain in the face as he was bending his body. He let out a small snicker before switching the direction of his hips to send a kick to the rhino’s jaw who thought Leo didn’t notice his plan to restrain the red slider. As for the last human, he smashed against the poor guy’s fragile skull and he went down without a fight. He stood tall for a few minutes, looking around to find the tiger who was nowhere to be found. Had he run away? No—

Leo’s eyes widen, sensing someone coming from the side. He wasn’t fast enough to block the tackle and fell to the ground, his shell grinding against the ground as he slid across the pavement. Fuck, he thought, he needed to get up before the other alphas recover. The tiger held him down with his body weight and holy shit he was heavy. Leo growled as he tried to thrash away from his iron grip. On the corner of his eyes, he saw the alligator coming towards them and held his arms to prevent him from fighting back.

_Shit_

“Gotcha’ bitch.” The alligator leaned to Leo’s neck and his snout brushed against his jaw. It was so repulsive that Leo genuinely had to push down the bile rising up to his throat. The tiger holding his lower half had his paw against Leo’s plastron and it slid down towards the zipper of his pants. His eyes widened, and he grinded his teeth together, his anger level rising higher.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!” Leo yelled out as he twisted his body, gathering more strength to throw the alligator locking his hands. He somehow managed to lift his body and throw him against the lamp post, rendering him unconscious. The tiger was taken aback, but Leo took the advantage and switched their positions so that he was above his assailant. He put his whole-body weight on the tiger’s torso and looked down upon the mutant. He swung his fist back, and landed a punch to his face, again and again, and again, and—

His hand was suddenly restrained by another person. He looked up and saw the rhino pulling his hand to get him off the tiger. He was lifted into the air and the rhino threw him to the ground. He fell face first, the sharp stones on the ground scratching against his skin that it drew blood. It took him no time to recover and he immediately sent a jab to the rhino’s unusually tough jaw. His knuckles stung. The rhino saw it and took advantage by punching Leo right where his liver was located. Leo choked more spit and this time, blood, as the mutant continued going at him like a punching bag. 

Leo was getting dizzy, and he knew that if he passed out, he’d get raped like crazy. 

As a last resort attempt, he lifted his knee the hardest he could and landed it in between the rhino’s legs. Obviously, it caused him to topple back in pain, so Leo kicked him in the face. When he fell down, Leo kept kicking him over and over until he felt the two humans’ gaze on him. He turned towards them and snarled. “You want me to fuck you up too?”

Seeing how their strong mutant friends had been incapacitated by a small turtle, they ran off, leaving the mutants behind. The sight of them running away caused a sense of relief run through his whole body. His chest heaved up and down, and he tried to regulate his breathing. “Fuckers,” he spat more blood out to the pavement, and when he looked up, he found Usagi standing a few meters away from him, speechless.

His adrenaline was still rushing and he snapped at him, “What?”

Despite Leo snapping at him, his confused face turned into relieve. “I’m sorry, I just, I knew something was wrong when they cancelled their order, so I followed you out, but I didn’t see where you were going because it was so crowded, so it took me some time, but,” he looked around the ground, the mutant alphas were all whining in pain on the ground. “It looks like you’ve handled them yourself.”

Leo blinked and shook his head, still dizzy. “Yeah, um, I appreciate the effort.”

“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have... led you on like that.” He stepped forward slowly. “It’s just that, you were unmarked, so,”

“But I don’t need to be marked!” Leo quickly retorted, his breathing picking up faster. “I’m not an omega!”

Usagi frowned, his ears drooping down. “Well, I’m sorry to assume, because you smell like one, and you’re very fragrant.”

“Am I?” Leo suddenly questioned. When did he present, again? Never? What?

“I would know an omega when I smell one.” He joked, putting his fingertip on his nose. Ah, yeah, rabbits and their keen sense of smell.

Overwhelmed by everything, Leo placed his palm on his forehead. “I don’t know what just happened. I want to,” Donnie. “I want to go home.”

“Are you sure? You’re bleeding, we have a first aid kit in the café.” Usagi was suddenly closer, but it didn’t alert Leo at all. His presence was so soothing that he couldn’t help but to melt into it. “I own the café, so you don’t have to worry.”

Leo’s cheeks warmed at the gentle gesture. “I, I can’t. I have to go home.”

“Ah, okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had an alpha.” Again, Usagi seemed like he read Leo’s mind. 

“He’s not my alpha.” _I wish he was._ The last sentence was silent.

Usagi smiled at the small pout that Leo had made. “May I at least scent mark you? To get you home without any more trouble.” Scent marking. Not as intimate and deep or effective as just marking with a bite, but yeah, it could hold him long enough to get home. “Don’t worry it won’t be as prominent so that your alpha— the alpha of your household, wouldn’t get mad. You can rinse it off with soap immediately as you get home.” He added to reassure Leo.

Leo knew he needed it. He couldn’t force his body into another fight. He was already bruised and bleeding everywhere. “Okay...” he timidly accepted.

“Excuse me,” Usagi whispered with the smoothest voice possible and carefully pulled the back of Leo’s head so that his face would be buried in the rabbit’s silky-smooth fur. Leo gasped against the touch and he melted against the rabbit. He smelled so incredibly good, a mix of coffee and cinnamon, and he felt drunk instantly.

Usagi rubbed his jaw atop of Leo’s head and down to his neck, connecting their scent glands together. Leo shivered, closing his eyes as Usagi’s snout slide against his collarbone. At that moment, something in him screamed, telling him to strip his clothes and just ask to get fucked senseless, but he fought against the urge. He really wanted to go home and spend hours under the shower jet to wash off the filth off him. Usagi continued scenting him, covering Leo’s other scent glands like on his wrists with his own.

When Usagi released him, his warmth had left his skin and he wanted more— no. “I think that should be okay.” He smiled warmly. 

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” He was dazed, but quickly snapped himself out of it. 

“You can go home now.” Usagi placed reassuring hands on both of Leo’s shoulders. “Stay safe, Leo.”

Leo weakly smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Usagi.”

* * *

Leo exhaled a breath and pushed the door open. He walked into the living room to find the three of his brothers sitting on the couch, faces full of concern and expressions strained. Their heads snapped up once Leo appeared, and the bruises and blood all over his body caused their eyes to widen in surprise. Especially Donnie. He looked like he was about to burst in flames. They all immediately ran towards Leo. 

“Who did this? What- what the fuck happened?” The panic in his voice made Leo’s stomach twist. The soft-shelled turtle gripped tightly on his arms.

“Leo, we need names.” Raph’s hands were balled into fists, clenched firmly. He seemed like he was going into a rampage, probably due to his alpha senses, and also the fact that he’s Raphael.

He felt sick. He jerked against Donnie’s touch, despite wanting to fall into his hold at the same time. “I don’t have names. They’re dead to me, anyways.”

“They?” Mikey chirped out, his surprised expression not leaving his face anytime soon. “How many?”

“Five alphas.” Leo sighed, “I handled them, don’t worry.”

“Five? More importantly, why would alphas—” Still in disbelief, Donnie leaned forward to smell Leo. “what- why do you smell like an alpha, did an alpha scent mark you? No, you also smell like an omega, Leo, did you, did you present?” Donnie seemed like he had so many questions that was yet to be asked, his face swirling into confusion and worry, as so does his other brothers. 

“Please, just, I want to take a shower.” Leo walked away, but Donnie’s grip on his arms got tighter. “Donnie, let me go.”

“Can you at least let me tend to your injuries?” 

“No.”

“Leo, stop being a stubborn motherfucker and just let me help you.” His voice raised higher, and Leo raised a brow in return. He never liked it whenever Donnie raises his voice against him.

“No, Donnie, I don’t need your fucking help.” Leo had to reply through his gritted teeth.

“Leonardo—”

“NO!”

“LEO—!”

And like usual, whenever this scenario happens, Leo kissed him, effectively shutting up Donnie. It was empty though, no feelings, no lust, just lips touching. It was also very brief, but it had left Donnie frozen long enough for him to flee from the living room. Raph tried to stop him by calling out his name, but Don’s hand prevented the bigger turtle from going further. 

It was so stupid for Leo to kiss him, but he was so sick of Donnie, of everything. He was moody and tired and hurt and angry and fuck, he was acting so weird. Hormones; maybe it was his omega hormones that caused him to act like that. Was he even an omega? God, today felt like forever. He had questions to ask, but he was not about to ask those to Donnie because as much as he wanted to meet him, he also felt too dirty to do so.

He stripped down, leaving his clothes on the floor of his room, and went into the hot, running shower. His whole body stung like a bitch. The cuts on his cheeks were still bleeding, the bruises on his stomach were turning into a blue-ish shade on his lime green skin, and tears prickled his eyes. So many emotions washed over him as he let the hot water run all over his body. His hand settled on the spots where Usagi had scented him. Those spots felt so hot and ticklish. He could still feel the white rabbit’s fur against his skin.

He shuddered, feeling the pent-up desires in his stomach go straight towards his dick. His hand reached low below his plastron to grip on the rising dick of his. He was so touch-starved that just touching himself made him shiver in pleasure. His head felt heavy and he rested his forehead against the cold tile wall in front of him as his hand pumped his cock. Suddenly, he felt something slippery and slick from his ass. 

It confirmed his suspicions of being an omega and exhaled a trembling breath. He was too frustrated to think about it again. He just wanted to jerk off and get that damn rabbit out of his mind, so he continued. He started pumping faster and faster, feeling the precum leak from atop his cock. Licking his lower lip, he closed his eyes to reimagine the touches that Usagi gave him. Incredibly tender and soft, he felt as if he was the most prized omega out there. The thought made him moan loudly, as he was also close to orgasming. After a few pumps, he came, spurting into the wall of his bathroom.

“Yuck,” He heaved, and his fingers rubbed against his ejaculation to wash it off the wall. Despite already relieving his pent-up sexual desires, he still felt like something was off. He continued showering normally and immediately fell asleep face first on his massive, new mattress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the weird fight scene. I didn't go over it and fix things because I'm so tired lol. I'm also bad at writing violence, so sorry for that. I also get that it's unrealistic that Leo won, but like, this is a story set in a world where humans and mutant live together so like.. yk.... BAHAHAH but i'm genuinely sorry if you don't like it, i'll try to fix my tendency to give the main character the plot armor in the future lmaoaoooo. Also, the omega gets attacked cliche... yes... I know.... I'm weak to cliches and tropes jsahd;sdkljdkljakl  
> anyways.... yeah, hope you enjoyed that nevertheless. :D
> 
> CHECK OUT THIS RLLY COOL ART BY [jactinglim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jactinglim/pseuds/jactinglim) !!!!!!!!! You can find them in the comment section too :D  
>   
> 


	9. The Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys won't believe how many times i deleted and rewrote this chapter. At one time, i reached 6k words and didn't like the whole thing so i deleted it, and came up with something from Donnie's POV instead. Not the best chapter in my opinion, but enjoy.

Leo was an omega.

There’s no doubt about it, his pheromones were that of a genuine omega and the fact that five alphas attacked him definitely took the cake. But the problem is that he didn’t present. He didn’t go through his first heat cycle, yet he suddenly had the characteristics of an omega. The omega hormones definitely played a role in his grumpy and moody behavior.

The way he produced pheromones that gradually multiplied in production overtime was also very odd. In the morning, he smelled faint, very faint that if he didn’t have alpha senses, he wouldn’t have noticed. At night, he smelled like a full-on omega, and he assumed that his fragrant scent was the cause that attracted the five alphas to attack him. Not that it was his fault. Donnie had to find out what caused this rare phenomenon, but the way Leo avoided him earlier played over and over in his head like a broken cassette. It annoyed him, way too much than it should’ve. He could not focus.

He stared at the screen of his computer blankly, the words on the screen looking more like scribbles rather than comprehensive sentences. Everything seemed to be a blur in his eyes. The urge to check on his brother only got higher when the image of his bruised body came into mind. Sure, he already told Mikey, the only other omega in the family, to tend to his injuries, but he just had to check. Just to make sure that he was doing his job properly. We all know how much Mikey can fuck up sometimes, since he’s a little bit clumsy. 

Donatello gnawed on his lower lip, considering whether another argument with Leo is worth the time or not. He was so sure that Leo would snap on him again. The sound of buzzing from his CPU was not helping him think at all. He stood up from his desk, walking over to the door of his room just to hesitate. Fuck it. He swung the door open and found Mikey exiting Leo’s room with the first aid kit in his hands. It didn’t seem like Leo resisted his help at all, looking from the way Mikey’s expression remained neutral. If he had a fight with Leo, he’d usually have this constantly pouting face until they make up.

“Mikey,” The older turtle called, closing the door behind him slowly. “How is he?”

Hearing his name, Mikey stopped his steps. “Hm? He’s fine, I woke him up and he was a bit grumpy, but he allowed me to fix him up.” There was uneasiness in his eyes. “He told me to leave him alone after I was done though.” He looked up to Donnie, eyes locking. “So, if you’re thinking of visiting him tonight, just forget it, bro.”

Donnie raised a brow. “Why? I’m worried for him.”

“I dunno,” Mikey shrugged, his eyes trailing over to the door behind him. “Probably hormones. Remember my first week after presenting?” Oh, yeah, Donnie remembered clearly. Mikey was a monster; he yelled at everyone for the slightest mistake, especially Raph who was by his side all the time to assist him. It was the worst. They were so glad that Raph is such a softie for Mikey.

Cringing at the thought, Donnie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you were such a bitch.”

“Hey!” The smaller nudged playfully as he puffed his cheeks out to exemplify his annoyance. “I couldn’t help it!”

“You definitely need a stronger dose of suppressants.” To tease him, Donnie said. This is good, joking around with Mikey can help him loosen his nerves up before facing Leo. 

“Said the one who grinded on Leo’s ass when you presented.” Donnie’s eyes widened at the statement.

“He- he told you?” Leaning in closer to match the shorter turtle’s height, Donnie whispered. “Everything?”

“Oh, yeah, dude, the part where you suck on his fingers, everything.” Mikey smirked, noticing the slight blush on Donnie’s cheeks. This fucker.

Why would Leo tell him that?

Donnie glared at his younger brother, unimpressed. “Why did he tell you that?”

It seemed like Mikey was ending the conversation, turning his body away from his brother in a sassy way, flicking his shoulder. “I never snitch.” And with that, he went downstairs, presumably to Raphael. 

Standing alone in the hallway, Donnie heard his heart beat faster. Should he take Mikey’s advice on not visiting Leo? He seemed like he knew things he didn’t, but again, Donnie knows everything. He’s supposed to know everything. If he didn’t, their family would’ve been dead in a gutter somewhere by now. His eyes glanced over to the piece of wood separating him and Leo, cursing silently about how annoying the inanimate object was. If only doors don’t exist, because at that time, the biggest obstacle he had was the door, when other times it’s math formulas and its shenanigans.

He stepped forward, fixing the collar of his sweater. His hand went up to the door and he knocked, once, twice. No answer came. Maybe he’s asleep? That couldn’t be. Mikey just left a few minutes ago, and Leo was not the type to fall asleep so quickly. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door again, hearing shuffling from inside the room. He was right; Leo was awake, he just chose to ignore him. It made him grit his teeth.

“Leo, I know you’re awake.” He tried to keep his voice steady and detached.

Another shuffling, then a few missing beats later, a voice replied. “Leonardo is asleep.”

“Very funny.” Donnie couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at Leo’s antics. “Leo, I’m coming in.”

“Why?” The question sounded more like mockery rather than a genuine question.

It was annoying, but he had no choice but to be honest if he wanted to come in there. “Because I’m worried.” He tried to hide the desperation in his voice, but it slipped out anyway.

“And? Sounds like a you problem, Donnie baby.” He heard another shuffling from the other side. What is he doing exactly, to be moving so much on the bed?

He was so close to barging in. “Leo, I swear to god, if you keep up this attitude, I’m barging in.”

“Maybe you should fuck the attitude out of me.” Leo sounded half serious, and Donnie could imagine the trademarked smirk on his face as he said that. He might as well do that, but he doesn’t want to give Leo exactly what he wanted.

That was it, he opened the door and found Leo lying on the bed without anything but a bathrobe draped loosely over his body. He was lying on his side as an elbow supported the upper part of his body, his folded leg resting atop his straightened one below, causing the muscles on his thigh to protrude clearer. One of the collars of the bathrobe fell down to just below his elbow, exposing a toned bicep and a beautifully sculpted collarbone, but the bruises ruined the color of his skin. The cuts on his face stopped bleeding and they were neatly covered with bandages, yet the sight of it caused a stung in Donnie’s chest.

The blue banded turtle looked up at Donnie with lazy eyes, his gaze deep and cloudy. Sure enough, just like what Donnie had imagined earlier, he had the shit-eating grin spread across his face. In front of him was his laptop, sitting on his bed while his fingers rest over the trackpad idly. The sight was alluring enough for Donnie to fuck it all and do a check up on Leo’s new omega bodily functions, but he held pride in his self-control. The pheromones weren’t helping at all though, wafting out from Leo’s recently activated scent glands. The scent that he was smelling was exactly like the one he noticed on Leo this morning, but now it’s more prominent, way more prominent. 

“Hey, Donnie,” Despite all the bruises and wounds on his body, Leo still looked beautiful—Wait what? The omega pheromones definitely played a role in enchanting Donnie’s sight of him, making him dizzy just by standing near the omega. He felt his knees go weak when Leo shifted his body again, the bathrobe falling from his thigh to exposing more skin.

Donnie crossed his hands atop his chest, trying to gain his composure and to make him seem more authoritative. “I’m coming to check on you.” Fuck, what’s with Leo’s hooded eyes? He’s definitely doing that on purpose. “How are you feeling?”

Leo hummed as if he was thinking of an answer, but Donnie sworn that he heard a moan. “Everything hurts, but I took painkiller, so it should be fine.” He sighed, “There, you got your answer, now leave. I need to finish my school work.” Dismissively, his eyes went back to focus on the piece of tech in front of him, fingers scrolling on the trackpad actively.

Donnie’s lips stretched into a thin line. From what he assumed, Leo just got assaulted, yet all he was thinking about is school work. He planned on calling Leo’s school to excuse him for a day or two, but it seemed like Leo himself had no plans on that. “Leo, are you okay?”

The question made Leo stop completely and his eyes slid back up to meet Donnie’s. He carefully placed his hands on the top of his laptop and closed it with a small _snap_. “Depends on what you’re asking about.”

“You, as a whole.” Taking a step forward, Donnie said. “Or, just in general.”

The cheeky persona Leo was putting wavered for a second, his eyes flitting across the corners of his room as if he was searching for something. “Just, just shocked. That’s all.”

“Your eyes say otherwise.” Donnie was getting so close that if he bent his knees, he would be on the bed with Leo. 

The red slider wavered again, the smirk on his face slowly fading, replaced with a thin smile. “It was scary, I guess?” His hand clenched on the bedsheet. “I thought I was about to die.” With a slight tremble in his voice, he said. At that point, Leo’s eyes were glossy, holding back the built-up tears. 

It physically pained Donatello to see Leo hold back his tears, somehow, like he could feel a genuine sting under his ribcage. “Leo?” He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t much of a comforting type of guy, if any of you hadn’t noticed, and he felt like he owed Leo at least his presence after his last breakdown. Leo helped him a lot in calming himself down, and now he wanted to return the favor.

Leo was strong; he’d always been physically stronger than Donnie, and far more skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He was a jack of all trades, and he was balanced in everything, compared to him and his other brothers. Never once had he lost a fight, but that night, he seemed as if he was losing, despite defeating all of his attackers, as he claimed earlier. “I was scared, Don.” The tears finally fell down, creating wet splotches of circles on the bedsheet. 

Do something, Donnie. Hug him, touch him, make him feel safe. Anything. Move.

But he just stared blankly at his crying brother, body unmoving as Leo continued to sob and whimper. His hands were wrapped around his body, clenching tightly around his bruised spots like he was protecting himself from something. “I felt so dirty, and at some point, when I got cornered- I- they- they touched me,” Leo gasped for air, looking up at Donnie.

The soft-shelled turtle was frozen, eyes widening as he listened to Leo’s story. 

Suddenly, Leo looked angry. “Are you just going to stare at me? Judging me? Am I a whore in your eyes now?” Through sobs and cries, Leo barked out. He was clenching his chest, which was heaving up and down so fast that Donnie was sure it would hurt. Especially with the bruises across his chest.

Donnie flinched, snapping out of his trance. He recalled the time when Leo comforted him, remembering every single gentle touches and gestures. Every single skin contact felt like feather to him. In an effort to copy Leo, his hand reached out slowly to Leo’s nape as he knelt on the bed, pulling Leo’s face into his chest. He placed another hand on Leo’s shoulder, clenching him tighter as he bent his body to pull their bodies closer. Leo smelled so good, he was fragrant and fresh, not dirty at all. 

“I- Leo, you- you’re not dirty.” Was the only thing that came into his mind. Was that comforting enough? The blue turtle fell completely silent, his face, which was buried in Donnie’s chest, trembled slightly as does his shoulders. “Leo? I’m not- I’m not good at this, so,” The quivering got worse and Donnie was too scared to do anything.

He sighed, the guilt in his chest twisting and turning. Aching. He wanted to at least return the favor Leo has done for him over the years. No matter what the circumstances were, Leo was always ready to be there and calm him down, but he couldn’t even do that much for him. Feeling defeated, he connected his forehead with the top of Leo’s head, eyes closing. “Leo, no matter what happens to you, you will always be precious to me. So please—” He noticed a small bruise near his hand on Leo’s shoulder and his finger lightly brushed against it, causing the owner of the bruise flinch in response. “Please don’t cry.”

It was true; he had been completely honest about what he said. It wasn’t just empty lies to make Leo feel better. Despite his cold attitude, he’s always seen every single one of his brothers as precious, even when he never showed it. He’s just so hopelessly bad at feelings that he never had the chance to show how much he treasures them. When he first came in to the family, he felt like an outcast, due to the fact that he was the last one to join the family. However, over the time, they noticed his insecurity and pulled him closer to them, whether he liked it or not, including him in every single thing that they did. Since then, he’d been very fond of them. He even dared to call it familial love.

Leo felt so soft against his calloused hands. “Leo, you drive me crazy, you know that?” He smelled so incredibly good. Despite the circumstances they were in, Donnie couldn’t help but feel his alpha instincts take over part of his thoughts. He brushed his cheeks over the side of Leo’s face nuzzling against it, “I’d like to see you cry, but not like this.”

Hearing that, Leo jolted and looked up, glossy eyes prettily gazing on Donnie. He heaved out a shaky breath and chuckled, but his brows were furrowing. “You’re so bad at this.” When Leo said that, Donnie genuinely thought he just fucked up, but his nose picked up on something. Leo’s lust. He proceeded to stare at the omega, giving knowing eyes to him. “Don’t stroke my cock when I’m crying, Donnie.” Leo’s hands that were clenching on the bedsheet went to wrap around Don’s waist, pulling their bodies flush against each other.

“That’s not a good way to comfort someone.” The last lingering tear on Leo’s eye finally fell down onto his jaw and Donnie brushed his thumb against the salty substance.

A sense of relieve ran across Donnie’s body. He ever so gently placed a hand below Leo’s jaw and tilted his head up so that they could see each other better. Their eyes met again and the lust in their eyes only got more prominent. “At least you stopped crying.” A soft smile appeared on his face while his eyes gazed fondly at the turtle below him. “Are you okay now?”

Blushes bloomed prettily on Leo’s cheeks, his hands slowly moving from Donnie’s waist to his thighs. The alpha shuddered under the touch, his breath hitching as the smell of sex pheromones enter his nostrils. “Does being horny counts as okay?” His voice dropped an octave lower. His grip on either of the alpha’s thighs became tighter, his nails clawing into his flesh. “Donnie, baby, kiss me, please,” The want in his voice made Donnie gulp. 

Feeling hazy from the thick pheromones surrounding them, Donnie’s hand slithered down from the omega’s shoulder down to his plastron, stroking slow circles with his thumb. He leaned down, lips parting, and they finally kissed again. The contrast between the kiss they had before and the one they were having was so clear. The kiss before was angry and empty, just another way to shut one another up, but this one, this one made Donnie shiver. Leo’s tongue was skillfully navigating around his mouth, as if he’d known how to do it his whole life, and he tasted so incredibly sweet. 

Suddenly, Leo pulled Donnie so that he fell on top of the omega, but he supported his body with a hand before completely falling. Leo grinned, his hands locking around the alpha’s neck to pull him into another burning kiss. He was extremely dizzy and couldn’t think straight, completely melting into Leo’s feverish touches. Each kiss pressed against his lip tasted like inferno, so tempting and full of sin, with every one of them successfully made him forget his own faith towards his self-control. Leo was the devil, and he eagerly shook his hand, falling into the deepest pit of hell, but he didn’t mind. He was already a sinner since birth anyway.

Breaking the chains of kisses, Leo connected their foreheads together and looked into Donnie’s animalistic gaze. “Fuck me?” He asked oh so innocently with a devilish grin on his face. He looked so pretty under him, those jet-black eyes of him equal to ecstasy; addicting and extremely dangerous. “You’d like to see me cry for a different reason, don’t you?”

But the question only made Donnie snap from his instincts. His brows furrowed, eyes settling on every bruise visible to the eye on Leo’s skin. He stroked his thumb against the bandage on Leo’s cheek, “You should rest tonight.”

Leo’s grip around his neck loosened, but after a moment of hesitation, he pulled Donnie closer again. “I’m fine. I won’t break, Donnie.” He buried his snout on Donnie’s neck, leaving peppering kisses on his collarbone and scent glands. “Please, I need this tonight,” his request sounded more like a whimper.

If only Leo wasn’t injured, Donnie would’ve given in; the kisses on his jaws given by Leo only tempting him more into giving in. He wanted to explore every single bruise on Leo’s body, and claim them as his, so that those filthy alphas won’t ever had a trace on something that was his. The urge to fill Leo up, to punish him for being so enticing, to claim him as a whole, to make sure he was covered in his scent, to **mark** him was strong, but his self-restraint was slightly stronger. With a last, slow, loving kiss, he released Leo’s hands from around his neck and looked him in the eyes.

He shouldn’t have said whatever he said earlier that made Leo act up. 

Donnie stood upright slowly, leaving the bed. “I’m sorry.” And with just two words, the yearning inside Leonardo’s eyes turned into contempt.

“You’re such a mood killer.” The red slider spat. 

“And you’re injured.” Donnie quipped back.

Leo shot the alpha a look and turned his body away, hunching his body to hug his knees. “If you’re just going to be a tease, like usual, just leave me alone.” Those words pierced Donnie’s chest like a dagger. He was being a tease, it’s true; leading Leo on with his “comforting” words and then stopping in the middle, right after he was trying to open up.

“Listen, Leo, I-“ _I want you too_. Donnie shrugged the thought away. “I’m not going to fuck you after five alphas tried to assault you.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Leo snapped his head towards Donnie. “I gave you my full consent, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“It feels wrong!” Raising his voice, Donnie almost screamed. 

“Just say you don’t want me and leave!” 

In a way to distract himself from his emotions, his hands worked on fixing his clothes. “You’re not in your right mind.”

“I’m **fine.** ”

“I shouldn’t have come here.” 

Leo hissed his words out, “You really shouldn’t have.”

Of course, it turned into a heated argument, like always. 

“Just rest. Don’t make this complicated, I’m literally just telling you to recover.” Turning away to the door, Donnie sighed. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

“I don’t need you in your room, I need you here.” Leo’s eyes were tearing up again, his voice cracking. “Right now. All I’m asking is for you to be by my side, for tonight. Is that too much to ask for?”

Donnie was bad at feelings. Had Leo not seen that already? Why is he trying so hard? There’s no point in this, he was on the brink of giving up his own conscience. 

“Forget about the sex.” Before Donnie replied, Leo continued to speak again. “I just want to feel safe tonight.”

The shaky breaths, trembling body, hoarse voice, Donnie could tell that Leo was desperate. He hadn’t realized that he just cracked Leo’s mask. His body turned, finding the omega sitting up, expectantly waiting for Donnie to come back to him and hold him again. Those cat-like eyes of his, full of hope and expectations. They both suddenly fell silent, but the sounds of their heartbeats were so loud in Donnie’s ears.

“What do you want me to do?” 

He was so utterly bad at emotions.

“Come here.” Leo guided as his hand tapped on the free space next to him on the bed. He’s always been like that, the one to take incentive, to lead him, whenever they shared intimate moments like their secret kisses in the past. Or, whenever they cuddle in bed at night, or when they share a brief hug, it had mostly been Leo to initiate the acts. Because he knew what he wanted.

And Donatello? He follows.

Albeit hesitant, Donnie went back to sit on the bed, specifically on the spot that Leo had reserved for him. It’s fine, as long as it’s not sex, he’d be able to comply. “Why are we like this?” He blurted out the question that had been lingering for long inside his head. Why do they keep pulling and pushing each other? More importantly, why is he okay with it? 

The blue banded turtle scooted closer to his brother, placing his hand gently on Donnie’s chest to push him carefully, letting him lay on the bed. “Just shut up.” Leo proceeded to place himself in the crook of Don’s body, in between his torso and spread hand. “I’m still mad at you, but I need you.” His hand clenched Donnie’s sweater and pulled him so that he’d be lying on his side, facing Leo.

“How are you so patient with me?” Leo felt so warm that Donnie couldn’t help but to feel drowsy under his touch. His mind was going everywhere, he felt drunk.

They pulled each other close, Leo burying his face inside Donnie’s chest while Donnie rested his chin on Leo’s head. “I ask myself that every day.” Leo replied. 

Okay, now apologize.

“I’m sorry.” 

“I don’t care.”

A pang of guilt kept hitting him in the chest. “I didn’t mean to lead you on.”

The hands that Leo placed around Donnie’s torso pulled them tighter. “Shut up.”

“We should’ve done this since the beginning.” He felt moisture on his chest. “It’s okay, I’m here.” Donnie settled his hand on Leo’s bicep, rubbing soothing circles. Since when was Leo’s skin so smooth? “No one can touch you anymore, Leo.” Slowly, Leo nodded his head, and Don felt accomplished. Please, cooperate, self. 

“Sleep. I’m going nowhere.” Research about Leo’s omega situation, finding the alphas that attacked him, beat the shit out of the alpha that scent marked him, all of those can wait for later. Right at that moment, he’s aiming to make Leo feel safe. Other things can come after him. Even if the world was burning, he’d still rather stay and hold Leo. “I don’t intend on going anywhere. This is home, remember?”

A hiccup.

“Good night, Leo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're confused, don't worry, me too :D


	10. Self-convincing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYo, Donnie's misunderstanding of his own feelings is the only reason why this story is still going and we gotta respect him for that /hj

Maybe Donnie was worth the trouble, or maybe Leo was just a masochist. Either way, he didn’t care about anything anymore. Waking up with Donnie’s soft breaths against his forehead was probably worth the fight they had. It’s been a while since they’ve done this. They used to do this all the time in their old home before they drifted away from each other, before the genius decided to go the Trump route and build a wall in between them. Sometimes they’d do it to release stress, other times because they made out in bed and settled into an embrace after, and some other times, it’s just Leo teasing his purple banded brother by forcing him into a snuggle. No matter the reason, Leo had always loved Donnie’s warmth. To cuddle someone is his favorite thing.

Sure, sex is great, it’s whatever. In the past, he’s had it multiple times, most of the times with girls, because they don’t need as much as preparations as boys, and because sex was just a casual one-time thing for him. They’d do it at the back of the school, in the toilet, or in a classroom after class, and all of that happened because of the unresolved sexual tension with Donnie. He’d think about him whenever he did it, despite the guilt that knotted in his stomach that shows up every time he meets Donatello after he had sex with another person while thinking about him. Especially if his partner was a male. The number of times he slipped up by calling Donnie’s name whenever he’s ramming himself into someone’s ass or pumping their dick exceeds the number of the fingers he had.

With that being said, he was never on the receiving end. As much as he wanted to try it, he’s too much of a coward to do it by himself. He knows how painful stretching someone for the first time can be, since he’s done it to another person countless of times, and the knowledge of it just drove him away from experimenting with himself. Now that he presented as an omega, he wonders if it’d hurt less since he knows that omegas self-lubricate and that their bodies are built for receiving alphas. It should be fine, really. However, the fact that he presented without _actually_ presenting gave him a lingering anxiety in the back of his mind. Was he possibly different from other omegas in any way?

The thought caused his gaze to linger on Donnie longer than it should’ve. The purple banded turtle was still deep in his sleep; probably because he’s never let himself sleep more than three hours a day. He often hears Donnie being awake in his room until four or five a.m., sometimes more, and he’s genuinely concerned about it. He was sure if he talked to Donnie about it, he’d ignore Leo completely, keeping up his unhealthy routine. At least today he’s getting the rest he deserved. The eyebags under his eyes are getting more and more visible over the years and the lack of sleep will probably lead to his death someday. Maybe Leo should start slipping in sleeping pills in his food or something.

Leo stayed still, Donnie’s torso flush against his. He shouldn’t stay in bed too long, or he might do something reckless. With a last stroke of his snout against Donatello’s jaw, he slowly and very silently crawled out of bed, letting the alpha sleep more, since Leo’s pretty sure his class won’t start until ten. Due to his movements, Donnie stirred in his sleep, heaving a long breath as Leo froze in place, afraid that he might’ve woken his brother up. Once Donnie stopped, the red slider immediately fixed the duvet up so that Donnie’s body was completely covered and warm. As the duvet enveloped him, Donatello stirred once more, this time to drown himself further into the warm cocoon of the duvet. It was cute or whatever.

Leo rolled his eyes, although he also had a fond smile etched across his face. He wanted to snuggle back in to the bed and tuck himself neatly inside Don’s warm body, but again, he might just do something reckless and fuck himself up the ass by falling deeper into the void of uncertainty. Well, **Donnie’s** uncertainty, really, but it’s a discussion for another day because Leo’s throat was incredibly sore from all the crying. He wondered if his other two brothers are already awake. The clock showed that it was still seven in the morning, so they’re probably still tucked away in the comforts of their bed.

Using his ninjutsu skills, Leo exited his room very soundlessly, leaving no trail of noise. Once he was outside, his steps became less silent, but the closer he was downstairs, the more his nose picked up an unfamiliar smell. He became wary, the memories of his assault fresh in his mind. The scent could be the alphas following him home, but this scent was far different from their murky, disgusting scents. This scent is calming, like a mix of warm cocoa and pudding, but had a little hint of woodiness. He carefully descended the marble stairs, passing by the kitchen to the living room and found a mess of tangled limbs on the sofa. It was nothing sorts of a mutilation murder scene though; it was the complete opposite. It was Mikey and Raph.

They must’ve fallen asleep there last night. Leo vaguely remembers Mikey telling him that he’ll be having a movie night with Raph.

Leo made a face behind them, grabbing a jug of water from the kitchen counter and chugging the whole thing down. It seemed that the couple had already noticed his presence from the way they giggled at each other all cute and warm and _disgustingly sweet_. Yes, Leo was jealous, what about it. Just because he was petty, he decided to approach them, stand in front of them, and stare them down with full judging eyes. It wasn’t something serious, more of a teasy-jokey thing he often does, but somewhere deep down, he knew that a part of him wanted the security they had between each other. The sureness between them as they touch and kiss, the commitment.

“What?” Raph was holding his omega in his arms, Mikey leaning into him and fully comfortable. His big body was supporting Mikey’s small frame with two big arms fully covering the box turtle, hugging him close. It indeed looked very comfortable.

Despite the question, Leo kept quiet and turned his back against them, then he proceeded to slip himself in between the sickeningly sweet couple by pushing his shell against their locked arms. It was hard in the beginning since Raph’s grip was one strong obstacle, but once they loosened up their hands, he slipped in easily and relaxed into the warmth of their embrace. The couple only giggled and wrapped their arms around Leo, making him flashback to when they used to sleep together as kids. Leo felt nostalgic, warmth rising to both of his eyes as he sunk deeper into the sofa.

“You okay, bro?” Mikey looked up with doe eyes, still sleepy and dreamy. 

It caused him to groan, closing his eyes to dismiss all the distractions around him and just relax between the two warm bodies sandwiching him. “I’m fine.”

The couple shared a look of concern with each other. “Hey, we heard you and Donnie scream at each other last night, it’s okay, you can tell us about it.” Using the big brother-y tone that Raph had always used whenever Leo was upset, he said.

“Yeah, but don’t blame me for it, I already told him to stay away.” Mikey added with a mischievous grin. 

“I mean, telling him to stay away was just something to make him come into my room, but... you know Donnie, right?” He sighed. 

“Yes?” The snapper sounded more like he was convincing himself rather than actually knowing what Leo meant.

“What I mean is,” Dramatically, Leo rolled his eyes as his head followed along in a circular motion. “he’s... y’know... he’s- he’s _Donnie_. I can never understand him no matter how much I try to.”

Mikey hummed understandingly, suddenly seeming like he was deep in thought. True enough, despite their first bad impressions of each other, Mikey and Donnie became closer and closer over the years. At one point, they even made Leo somewhat jealous of their closeness. If anything, Mikey knew Donnie the most, because the genius seems to be more open about his feelings around the youngest. “I get what you mean, dude,” he nodded, sticking his chin out with an exaggerated frown. “he does that annoying thing where he acts like he doesn’t know what he wants.”

“RIGHT?” Leo instantly rose up, startling the other two. “It’s so annoying!”

Lost in the conversation, Raph looked at them idly, lifting a brow up, but Leo’s sudden high energy affected Mikey. “Uh-huh! Like this one time we were hugging, and he just,” in a way to imitate Donnie, the box turtle created two circles with his fingers over his eyes and he lowered his voice. “like, ‘Mikey, I think that’s more than enough physical interaction for today.’ But I **knew** he enjoyed the hug.”

“Ohoho... yeah _that_ sounds like Donnie.” With an agreeing nod, Leo gave a finger gun. “Like, he’s detaching himself from us _and_ himself.”

“Mhm! But,” A grin appeared on Mikey’s face. “He doesn’t seem to mind when it’s you getting physical with him. Ifyouknowwhatimean.” The last part had been spoken faster, his eyes avoiding Leo’s.

Raph’s mouth turned into a big ‘O’, his eyes widening in surprise. He didn’t think that Mikey would drop the bomb now. “Oof, now that’s one sensitive topic if I’ve ever heard one.”

Leo glared at both of them, less menacing and more playful. “He minds, I just always force him into it.”

“If I remember, he always kisses back?”

The alpha gasped at what Mikey had said. “He kisses back?”

“Okay, okay, enough boys, we don’t go into that territory.” Leo crossed his arms, pushing the snouts of his brother with the palm of his hands to separate them. “That is a no es Bueno.”

“Aww, why? Kitheth awe fun.” Despite being muffled by his big brother, Mikey managed to say out through Leo’s fingers.

“Kisses are fun when the feelings are mutual.” Leo sunk back into the sofa again, retracting his hands from his brothers’ snouts. “I feel like it’s just me.”

The couple fell silent, the genuine sadness and insecurity in Leo’s voice causing an ache in their chests. Mikey leaned his head and rubbed his snout against his brother’s cheek in a loving way. “Don’t worry, he’ll come around. He’s not a big brained nerd for nothing.”

The gesture almost made Leo smile, but he managed to keep it in by scowling further. “It’s been, what? Like four years? Since- since,” he tried to find the word, eyes looking around as if he could see the insides of his mind. “Since whatever it is that we started when we were fourteen.”

Raph stretched a comforting smile and tapped his forehead against Leo’s, leaning to him. “He’s getting there, wait for him. I don’t know if you’ve noticed anything, but he’s opened up more lately, right?” 

Right. He’s opening up. He just needs time.

Leo sighed, “Okay, it’s fine. It will get better.” Then, he mischievously grinned, tugging the hands of his brothers. “Now hug me tighter, boys.” They both chuckled, doing the exact thing Leo asked them to do, but the red slider yelped in pain when they did it too hard. “Not- not that tight, my wounds—”

“Yikes, speaking of your wounds, you wanna tell us what happened to you?” While he was releasing Leo, he asked, perking up a brow ridge in curiosity. He hadn’t had a chance to ask last night, due to Leo’s sour mood.

Groaning, Leo replied, “Five alphas tried to touch me. I managed to beat them up, I don’t even know how, but, yeah. Things happen, I guess?”

He felt Raph and Mikey tense over him. “Leo- we, we didn’t know that they—” The snapper turtle was cut off with a finger on his lips.

“I don’t want to dwell too much on it.” Leo’s mind wandered to Donnie again. “I’ve let out my frustrations last night.”

The alpha seemed surprised. “Donnie actually helped you with your emotions?”

“Ehh...” He shrugged as he waved his hand horizontally like he was measuring something. “He was bad at it, but I don’t feel as worse anymore, so I guess... he did?”

“Still!” Mikey started; his voice strained. “If you wanna tell us anything, just say it.”

Leo’s stomach twisted, he wasn’t over the whole thing, but he made sure that he doesn’t show it. Ignoring the uncomfortable churn in his belly, Leo put up a cheeky grin and hooked his hand over Mikey’s neck. “Awe, look at you! All grown up and shit.”

“I’ve been grown since years ago.” There was a bit of tension in his voice, despite his playful tone. Mikey probably knew that his older brother was trying to shift the topic. “Okay, now forget about Donnie, let’s oversleep. I don’t wanna go to school today.” He then rested his head on Leo’s shoulder, relaxing his body and closing his eyes as Raph does the same atop of Leo’s head.

“Donnie’s gonna yell at you for that.” Leo warned with a giggle, his neck ticklish.

“You kiss him. He’ll shut up.” Unbothered by the warning, Mikey quipped.

“Forget about Donnie, I’m gonna get mad if you skip school.” Raph raised a brow, pouting.

“Then I’ll kiss you.” Mikey said again, causing Leo to laugh. They should do this more often.

* * *

This is bad. 

Donnie’s forehead wrinkled as he went through the papers in his hands. It was a written report he wrote himself, but the more he connected the dots, the more concerned he became. He sighed, putting those papers on his desk as Leo’s face popped up in the back of his mind. There’s no way he could say the results to the omega without making him feel upset.

That’s right; the papers he had in his hands are written reports he found after some testing and research about Leo’s condition. He thought it’d be something like an error in his heat cycle, or maybe a slight miss because his hormone had fucked up, but no, it was something permanent, unchangeable, uncurable. Even if he worked all his life dedicating himself to find the hypothetical cure of Leo’s abnormality, he would just be wasting his time. From what he’s found in his research, ever since secondary genders were a thing, doctors and scientists had tried to find a way to “fix” it, but none came with result.

Leo was a defect— ah, no, Donnie couldn’t possibly call him that. It’s too harsh of a word; too degrading even to his standards. He was... compared to other omegas, he was _lacking_. Yes, that’s the word. He was normal, but his functionality as an omega was lacking, just a teeny bit. It shouldn’t be a big deal... right?

Damn.

Donnie started to sweat. It’s been around a few weeks since their fight in Leo’s room, but thinking about another argument coming up caused his stomach to stir. It wasn’t that he’s afraid of Leo, it’s just that the immense guilt he bore on his chest became more and more unbearable lately whenever they get into an argument. It used to be something so normal for him to clash with Leo when they were kids. It was so easy to call him things, to yell and scream, to punch, to hate him, but now that they’re growing up, he became more emotionally aware of other’s feelings. He couldn’t be an ignorant child anymore, he’s growing up and he absolutely hates the feeling of guilt, or feeling at all.

If he could remove the part of the brain that controls emotions, he’d gladly remove it. The problem is, he’s not batshit crazy enough to do it. He knew of the consequences and how it’s theoretically impossible to do the procedure. Thinking about doing it in the first place was a dumb thing to do anyway, and Donatello doesn’t do dumb, obviously. He just needed to be smart enough to gain more self-restraint and to conceal everything regarding his emotions. When did he start to became this obsessed with losing feelings anyway? Of course, it has something to do with Leonardo. Who else could stir him up so much to the point that he’s willing to give up the ability to feel?

Leonardo quite literally drives him crazy.

It all started from a mindless kiss, fucking horny teenagers testing out weird stuff, just pure hormones and shit. He thought it’d be a one-time thing, but no, his alpha instincts just had to take over and ruthlessly kiss Leo on the bed. Then it happened again, and again, and again, and again, even when he promised to himself that he wouldn’t be tempted by Leo’s sloppy kisses. It’s so exhausting that he insisted on separating their room. Night kisses on the bed are the most dangerous ones, if Donnie recalled correctly. He almost lost control a couple of times whenever they made out on the bed, especially at night. The moonlight illuminating Leonardo’s ridiculously smooth skin, the darkness enveloping his gaze, the tension, the silence, everything.

Not only that Leo’s kisses ruined his already messy feelings, the sexual tension between them sometimes caused him to lose control and have sex with anyone at school. At first, he only did it because he knew that Leo lost his virginity to an upperclassman, a girl with unproportionally big boobs, and he tried to one-up him by also fucking another person. It was so dumb when he thought about it. They had this unspoken rule about how their exploration only goes as far as kissing and clothed touching. Like they were both afraid of something, yet couldn’t quite stop completely from feeling each other up. They could’ve just fucked each other, could’ve solved everything, but no, they just had to over-complicate things.

Because they both knew it wasn’t just sexual exploration. Feelings were involved, and it tangled the both of them up into a string of confusion and uncertainty.

Then Leo presented as an omega. Donnie couldn’t resist him anymore. There’s no way they can satisfy each other with mere kisses and little soft touches, they both crave more of each other, and even Donnie knew that. He knew Leo wanted him, and annoyingly so, Donnie wanted him back. Yet, why is he so afraid? What is it exactly that he’s afraid of? He couldn’t figure it out, despite his genius brain. It’s like he’s trying to finish a puzzle, but all of the pieces came from different puzzle sets, and he just blindly pushes the pieces to fit.

Never mind all of that feelings bullshit, he currently has something more important to tell Leo. His fucking mess of a mutated gene that caused his secondary-gender to not function properly. No matter his reaction, Donnie must deliver the news to him. He couldn’t lie, it would just be scummy to do so, and even he knew better. So, he decided to just tell him straight up.

“D?” A squeak of a voice came from behind him as Mikey peeked from behind the wooden piece of door. “You coming down for dinner, bro?”

What a perfect opportunity to deliver the news.

Turning his chair to face Mikey, Donnie hummed. “I’ll be down there in five.” His eyes glanced over to the wall beside him, averting his gaze from meeting Michelangelo’s hawk-like perception skills. “Will Leo be there too?”

Suddenly, the box turtle’s expression lit up. “I see you’re getting more open about it, huh?” What? What is he talking about, again? “He’ll be there too, D. Don’t worry, just come down.”

Donnie stared at his little brother, brows drawing close together. “More open about what, exactly, Michael?”

Knowing that the conversation would go longer than expected, the box turtle entered the room and closed the door behind him, letting himself lean on the closed door. “Your feelings?” And he was welcomed with another confused stare from his older brother. “You’re asking about him, which is good.” His tone was that of an adult speaking to a child. “It’s indicating that you care about his presence, right?”

“What are you talking about, again?” The confusion on his face became more apparent. It was obvious that he genuinely didn’t know about what Mikey’s talking about.

Michelangelo ran a hand across his face, regretting what he just said. “You know what, never mind, D. I’m being dumb.”

“No, no, tell me about it.” Donnie leaned back into his chair, resting his chin on one hand which was placed on the armrest. “Go on.”

“Donnie, please.” Mikey rolled his eyes. “In our seven years of living as a family, you’ve never asked, not even once, if Leo’s coming to dinner.”

Recalling his own memories, Donnie tilted his head. “I’ve never asked?” He couldn’t really remember those things specifically. His mind was already full of his science projects and experiments.

“Yes! Not once! That’s why I thought you’re being more open about your feelings towards Leo.”

“My what now.”

Mikey let his mouth hung open, eyes widening dramatically as if he just heard that pigs could fly. “Your feelings? Towards- towards your kissing buddy? Leo?”

“There is no _feelings_ involved.” Don tried his best to not choke at the word “feeling”, his voice almost cracking, but he kept his body relaxed. Calm down, Donatello, Mikey can’t read your mind, no matter how perceptive he was. 

“You’re kidding.” Silently, Mikey had hoped that Donnie was pulling a joke like usual. He likes jokes, he knew from experience, but something tells him that his older brother wasn’t joking at that moment. 

“I am not.” Donnie simply said. “We were teenagers. Experimenting about those things was a normal thing to do.” _Right?_ He left the last question out.

“But- but,” Mikey stammered, he knew deep down that the alpha was lying. He saw the way Don stared at Leo in the past with longing eyes and guilty stares. The way he cried silently in the bathroom while calling out Leo’s name when he thought no one was home, the way he only listened to Leo on the night of him presenting as an omega—yes, he heard the whole conversation—, and the way his gaze would falter every time Leo talked about his love interests in the past.

Donnie shook his head as he rubbed his forehead, “Mikey, sometimes things just aren’t the way it seems like. You might’ve seen us being... intimate in the past, but things change. We’re all growing up and we’re setting new boundaries.” Are they really setting boundaries or is he just bullshitting through the conversation, he doesn’t even know. “That’s just how it is.”

“I saw the way your eyes burn with jealousy when Leo bragged about losing his virginity to someone older in tenth grade.” Mikey’s voice went softer, almost a whisper, as if he was afraid to say it. His eyes lingered on the floor.

“No? I wasn’t jealous.” The soft-shelled had a sour taste on his tongue after lying. “So, what if he fucked that ugly bitch named Jessica? Or whatever her name was.” Her name was not Jessica. “It was a one-time thing anyway. We all know how Leo loves to do that sort of thing.” He was convinced that he might’ve exaggerated too much on dissing the girl, because he sure did sound jealous.

“Yeah? Why did you fuck a dude the next day, then? Wasn’t it your way of one-upping him?” 

“I can fuck whoever I want to, thank you.” 

“Donnie, dude, listen.” Mikey let out a long breath as his brow ridges furrow in worry. “You know that I love you, right? We all do, but,” he bit his lip, hesitating. “Please be honest.”

“Mikey, I am _not_ having this conversation with you right now.” He can’t afford to argue with Mikey at this moment, he needed to save his energy for later after announcing Leo’s condition. 

“D, please.”

“Michelangelo, shut your mouth.” Donnie’s voice went an octave lower; he just used his alpha voice on his own baby brother. It was a method for alphas to make omegas forcefully submit to them, and he regretted using it on Mikey as he saw that the omega froze completely in shock, following the alpha’s order.

There it is, the heavy guilt in his chest. His gaze softened as he stood up, approaching Mikey carefully. “I’m sorry, I didn’t- I shouldn’t have done that.”

Mikey flinched and Donnie’s heart broke. He was afraid of him. 

“No, I get it.” The omega started to relax, but his voice was strained, still. “I’m never bringing that up again.”

Donnie’s hand reached out to settle on Mikey’s head, petting him briefly. “I’m never doing that to you ever again, either.” Being an alpha was a curse. He never wanted to be one, anyway.

Hearing the honesty and softness of Donnie’s voice, Mikey became more relaxed and his eyes looked up after looking at the ground for so long. “Yeah. Let’s head down to dinner?”

“Sure.” Donnie was prepared to whatever’s coming his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jessica she did nothing wrong


	11. Defect

It was time for dinner, Leonardo waited for the others to come down while he sat on the edge of the swimming pool, dipping his feet in the cold water. Mikey just finished cooking and immediately went upstairs to call the two others for dinner. If Donnie joins them for dinner, he probably needs to prepare himself to hear about news he probably wouldn’t like because Leo knew that he’s been researching about his odd omega condition. It’s been two weeks since he took Leo’s blood along with some other samples, but he never had the chance to ask because the genius was always doing the research at his University, since apparently, they have better equipment there or something. He hoped that the result would come out faster because he’s been overthinking about it. 

The cold water enveloping his feet really helped with his anxiety, small waves calmly stroking his skin as wind blew across the pool. He placed his hands next to his waist and leaned back as he supported himself with those hands, head looking up to see the visible moon on the orange sky. It’s getting dark soon, so all the lamps near and inside the pool lit up, moody lights illuminating his skin. This is like free therapy, but not really, more like temporarily soothing the raging storms of emotions inside him. He needed a way to cope, but not with alcohol, or drugs, or anything that would get him addicted. Maybe he needs to start meditating again? But the dojo... right, the dojo. He should ask Donatello to buy the property back.

Before they sold the dojo, Leonardo was probably the only one who was most spiritually in touch with himself, compared to his other brothers. He’d at least meditate twice a week as a way to seek a safe space for himself and to quite literally escape reality. Meditating was a way to cope, and it worked; it was a healthy way too, improving both his physical and mental health. It helped him focus while he’s training, increasing his effectivity in practicing. But when they sold the dojo, he had no more safe space to meditate, since their apartment is very loud and he also had no time to do it either, because of his unending shifts. Now that he doesn’t need to work anymore, he could start doing it again, either in their backyard, or the dojo, that is if Donnie agrees on repurchasing the place, in which Leo doubts he’d do it.

Nevertheless, he needed to start meditating again.

He waited silently for his brothers to come downstairs, hearing loud, big steps coming down to the ground floor, and it was painfully obvious that Raph was coming down. What’s taking Mikey and Donnie so long? He grunted, slouching his back and resting his elbows on either of his thighs to support his head when Raph approached him and sat right next to him. Leo gave his brother a lazy side-eyed glance to acknowledge him and went back to stare at his reflection on the swimming pool. His image rippled once Raph dipped his feet in there and he nudged the big turtle with a scowl.

“Hey! You ruined my pretty face.” He scolded playfully, touching the surface of the water with the tip of his fingers delicately as if it was something fragile.

Raph snickered, whispering an unapologetic sorry just to swing his feet around and splash water everywhere. “Aw, what’s wrong pretty boy? You mad?” At that point, Leo was practically half scowling and half smiling, his hand shielding over his face to protect himself from the splashes of chlorine water.

To retaliate against the snapper, Leo dipped his hand into the pool and with added strength, he splashed the water directly towards Raph’s face, causing his bandana to turn a darker shade of red. “Who’s mad now, Raphael?”

Pulling off the soaked bandana off his face, Raph chuckled, “Not me, that’s for sure.” He placed the bandana on the ground next to him and twisted his body towards Leo’s direction, facing him. “So, what’s up?”

“I’m thinking about the dojo,” Leo paused to place his folded arms on the back of his neck. “Maybe we should buy it again? To honor dad.”

Raph was suddenly deep in thought. “Would Donnie do that?”

Hearing Donnie’s name get mentioned, Leo scoffed. “We don’t need Don to do that. We just need to... you know- like, save up? I’m pretty sure we’ll manage.”

“With my minimum wage?” Raph asked, counting his own fingers as a way to reimagine his savings. “I don’t do well in math, but even I know that we wouldn’t be able to do that.” It was reasonable for him to think like that, since it was quite literally the truth.

Leo let his upper body fall back to the ground and used his hands as pillows for his head, closing his eyes. “I know, I know. I was just being petty because I know Donnie wouldn’t buy it for us.”

“I mean, for you?” He stroked his chin, raising a brow. “He probably would.”

“Oh yeah, he totally would do it.” Leo replied sarcastically. 

The red banded turtle groaned in frustration, “I’ve been telling you! He’s literally in love with you.” 

“That selfish egg-headed weirdo can feel love?” Leo sat up and grinned, “Interesting assumption, buddy, but I think you’re talking about a different turtle.”

“Okay mister denying his own feelings.” Raph mocked as he placed his crossed hands across his plastron. “Oops! I got into the forbidden territory~” he continued in a singing voice.

“Oh, you’re gonna catch these hands once we get the dojo back.” Leo placed a soft punch on Raph bicep, wincing his eyes in challenge. “Wanna spar when- _**if**_ we get it back?”

“Only if you can keep up, lil’ bro!” Raph knew that Leo was an omega, thus the disadvantage at strength, but he also acknowledged that the red slider was an affordable opponent in sparring. Leo was well balanced in fights, and it was a big advantage he uses a lot.

Leo proceeded to jump on Raph and did a headlock on him, both bursting in laughs in the process. For someone smaller than the snapper, Leo was strong, because Raph was genuinely struggling to release himself from the lock. They were both doing play-fighting until Leo noticed something odd. He leaned to smell Raph’s neck and raised a brow ridge. “I think the hormone inhibitor’s effects are wearing off.”

Before replying, the bigger turtle tapped on his brother’s hand twice as a sign to release him, and Leo did exactly just that, whispering an oopsie under his breath. “Well, we took the shot last month, so—” he coughed lightly, “Yeah, no more sleepy days.”

Leo frowned, plopping himself onto the ground. “Would that mean... no more hugs? For me?”

The only thing keeping them from seeing each other as possible mates while still being able to touch each other intimately is the inhibitor, and once the effects wear off, they’d need to minimize skin contact. As for Raph and Donnie, they’d probably avoid each other because of their territorial behavior and skin contact wouldn’t happen as often either. Then, there’s Mikey. If Leo, an omega, touched Raph, Mikey would probably get possessive and jealous; it’s just his nature as an omega, and it literally couldn’t be helped. Sometimes Leo wondered if their lives would be easier if they were actual siblings and only have one alpha or one omega in their pack, since it’s usually like that in a biological family. You either inherit the omega or alpha genes to one of your children, or you inherit none at all.

“I mean, you can still get them.” Gently, Raph stroked Leo’s head with his big, calloused hand affectionately. “Don’t worry, man, nothing’s gonna change too much.”

Yeah right, ever since the alpha omega beta thing came up in their lives, everything changed. “Everything’s gonna change. It already is changing.” Ugh, what a way to spoil the mood, Leo. He used to be such a cheerful kid, the mood booster of the family, but now all he does is ruin it instead.

“Hey, listen, changes aren’t always bad.” Raph’s tone softened, his hands placed on both of Leo’s shoulder as an encouraging gesture. “You said it yourself that we need some changes, right? Where’s the energy you had before?”

“Gone, changed my mind.” Leo went limp, the only things supporting his body from falling down are his brother’s hands on his shoulders. “We’re fucked.”

“Oh no, Don’s emotionless passion is rubbing off on you!”

Leo laughed at Raph’s over dramatic shocked expression, splashing more pool water to get rid of that face. “Speaking of Donnie, what’s taking him and Mikey so long up there? I’m hungry.”

Then the devil himself finally came down. Leo turned his head towards the stairs and saw both Mikey and Donnie descend from the stairs through the glass separating their backyard and living room. He gave a look at Raph and immediately stood up to have a race towards the dining table. It didn’t take them long until Leo won the race, effectively beating Raph by a big margin. He sat next to Mikey who had been sitting there with Donnie, both staring at the table in silence. Leo frowned at the heavy atmosphere.

“Did you guys fight or something?” As he asked the question, Raph settled next to Donnie. “That’s rare.” He added the last comment under his breath, picking up his spoon.

“Hm? Who’s fighting?” Raph cluelessly said. 

“We weren’t fighting.” But Donnie’s expression said otherwise. He seemed bothered and so was Mikey. “We just had a little disagreement, that’s all.”

Mikey finally looked up to force a fake smile stretch across his face. “Yep, what D said.”

Knowing that both of them wouldn’t tell the actual story, Leo shrugged it off, taking a bite out of the food in front of him. He could ask Mikey later about it in a more private space, maybe, if he’d open up. As he was chewing his food, the dojo came up in his mind.

“Hey, Donnie—”

“Um, Leo—”

They both stopped and stared at each other. “You go first,” Donnie decided while he nibbled on the food in his spoon.

“Right.” The spoon clanked loudly against his plate as he put it down. “I was thinking, maybe- you know, just **maybe** , we could um, get the dojo... back?” His voice went smaller and smaller the longer he went down his sentence. 

It made Donnie stop himself from eating, eyes looking down as if he was deep in thought. A moment later, he tilted his head and continued eating. “Sure. I promised that I’ll buy you everything you want.” He looked up and glanced at the red slider. “Anything else? Raph’s workshop? New skateboard for Mikey?”

To say that Leo was taken aback is an understatement. His mouth hung open as Don listed more suggestions about the things that he could buy them. So, he intended to keep his promise after all, but to see him be this willing was oddly out of place. “You’re okay with it?” Leo furrowed his brows, keeping the empty spoon stuck on his lower lip and nibbled on it. “That’s odd.” He added inaudibly.

Donnie raised an eyebrow, “I might be a selfish egg-headed weirdo, as you usually call me,” he smirked, not taking the nickname as an offense anymore. “but I’m a man of my words. It’s not like we’ll go bankrupt from it.”

The other three brothers exchanged looks and Leo decided to take this opportunity to talk more. “What if I say that I want to continue the dojo and teach kids about ninjutsu?”

The smirk on Don’s face immediately faded. He didn’t look displeased nor was he angry, he just looked slightly annoyed, his eyes faltering down to the food in front of him. “I mean, you do you, I guess.” He must’ve been reminded of the day when he objected to Raph’s career choice as a mechanic, where he and Leo got into a really big fight because of it, and decided to not to repeat his mistake. “It’s not like I can stop you or anything. Raph’s the big guy here, not me.”

“Yeah, I know that.” Leo simply said. He knew he didn’t need a permission from him, he could just do it and Donnie couldn’t stop him no matter what he does. He just wanted to see his reaction and it turned out that he’s pretty okay with it, despite looking like he forced himself to. 

Mikey suddenly raised his hand when the family fell quiet, “And I’m going to art school!”

Donnie grunted, resting his head on his palm meanwhile Raph and Leo clapped their hands, “You finally said it, what a mad lad.” Leo smiled, knowing that he’s always wanted to express his dreams to the whole family.

“I never knew about that, but I fully support you,” Raph added, staring fondly at the box turtle. 

“Aw, thanks Raph.” Mikey returned the fond gaze to Raph, then the whole family shifted their attentions towards the purple banded turtle, their gazes expecting something from him.

Running his hand down his face, Don pulled a neutral, unbothered expression. “Right, of course, at least one of you is going to college.” He continued to mumble, “even if it’s art college.”

“Hey, nothing wrong with it.” A smirk appeared on Leo’s face. “A degree’s a degree, right, Don?”

Don inhaled a long breath and once he exhaled, a strained smile appears on his face. “Of course, you’re right, a degree’s a degree.” 

Mikey and Leo shared a look and high-fived each other in victory. “Anyways,” It just came up to his mind that Donnie wanted to say something to him. “What were you gonna say, Don?”

The forced smile on Donatello’s face fell into a thin line. His hand spun the spoon in his hand around the plate idly as he looks at Leo carefully. Almost immediately, Leo knew what he was about to say. “I got the results.”

Concern started to paint their faces, but Leo was good at covering it, keeping his neutral expression stable. “And what does it say?”

“Do you want the whole family to hear it or do you want me to talk about it to you later in private?” With a long sigh, the purple banded turtle placed his utensils on his plate and folded his arms neatly on the table.

Leo does the same, but the twisting in his stomach made his eyes twitch, and his mask faltered for a second. “Nah, it’d be good to share the news with everyone.” Was it? 

“We can leave if you want us to.” Raph piped up, his brows furrowing. 

“Oh, come on, it shouldn’t be that bad.” Leo tried to convince himself, popping a fake grin to cover the uneasiness. He wanted to puke, the food in front of him suddenly looked unappetizing. “Right, Donnie?”

“Right.” Don crowed, the stiffness on his face staying. “Okay, so,” he cleared his throat. “There’s a mutation in your omega genes, which, makes you unable to carry children. It’s also why you didn’t go through a heat cycle, but you still produced more pheromones and hormones compared to usual, because you were supposed to go through one. There.” He finished with a long exhale.

It wasn’t what Leo was expecting. He thought Don would say that he only had three weeks to live or something, but what Donnie had said wasn’t any better either. He tried to process the information, drumming his fingers against the dining table as he tilted his head. “So, what you’re saying is,” he met Don’s gaze. “I’m a defect? A defect omega?”

“Leo, no—” Mikey wanted to continue, but he held himself, knowing that he had no rights to say anything. Raph does the same, his expression stern as he watched both Donnie and Leo in silence.

“No, I didn’t say that,” Donnie retorted, “Your other functionalities as an omega are all normal, besides the fact that you can’t get pregnant, that is.”

Leo never even thought of having children, nor he ever wanted any, but what’s this ache in his chest? He’s an omega, yet he couldn’t even do what omegas were made for. Their sole purpose is to carry children, yet he couldn’t even do it? Might as well just call himself a beta with extra steps. It was frustrating. The first thing he wondered was if Donnie would want an omega like him when other omegas can give him the thing he couldn’t. He was sure that Don would not want him anymore and he was sure that he was going to be abandoned, like the way his parents abandoned him when he couldn’t fulfill his role to mend his parents’ marriage.

The familiar heat was prickling the edges of his eyes, but Leo ignored it, keeping a lifeless smile plastered on his face. “Oh, okay, glad that it’s nothing serious.” After a last glance at Donnie, he went back to putting food in his mouth, but his tongue only tasted bitterness.

“Leo?” Raph carefully said, exchanging glances with his other two brothers who had the same expression of concern.

“Hm?” The smile was still visible as Leo chewed his food. “This risotto is so good, Michael, which recipe did you use?”

“Leo, dude, it’s okay you don’t have to pretend.” The youngest clenched the utensils in his hands tightly, his eyes never leaving Leo.

“Pretend? Why would I pretend?” Glossy eyed, Leo continued to shove down food into his mouth. “Dish ish shoo good!”

The three turtles watched him in silence, knowing that Leo wouldn’t listen to them no matter how much they talked him into it. Leo was a master of pretending, and they all knew about it, no matter how good he was in doing it. If him and Donatello could relate about something, it’s probably that the both of them loves to pretend. Raph nudged the turtle next to him, giving eye signals, but Donnie only frowned, pretending he doesn’t understand what the bigger turtle meant. His hands picked the utensils back up to scoop a spoonful of risotto and he took a bite out of it as a way to ignore Raphael.

Rolling his eyes, Raph went to look at Mikey, who seemed to be more willing in working with him. They shared a look and nodded. 

“I feel kinda sick,” Raph started, and he immediately felt Don’s burning gaze on him. “Mikey, wanna nurse me?”

Mikey stood up, pushing his plate away in a fake surprised expression. “Sure!”

“I can help.” Leo suddenly joined in, but his gaze was still empty.

“No, no, enjoy your food. You looked like you loved it so much.” Raph also stood up, dragging Mikey by the hand away from the dining table and to upstairs. “Bye, guys!”

It was painfully obvious that they were just making an excuse to leave Donnie and Leo alone, and they both knew it too, but Leo shrugged it off, continuing to force himself eat his food to distract himself. He was waiting for Donnie to open his mouth and talk to him, since Raph and Mikey seemed like they wanted it to happen so much. From his field of view, he couldn’t see Donnie’s face, but from the tension of his hands, he knew that Don was dreading about this situation. 

“I’m sorry it turned out this way,” Finally, Donnie started.

“It’s not your fault.” The smile on Leo’s face fell. “I didn’t fool anyone, did I?”

He really didn’t, but Donnie ignored the question. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I do, actually.” Was an unexpected answer, and Donnie’s eyes widen. Leo smirked, placing his head oh his hand, which was supported by his elbow on the table. “The question is, can you handle me talking about it.”

Now, that wasn’t a question. “I don’t know, but I’ll try my best,” his voice went smaller, “I guess.”

With a sigh, Leo replied, “you don’t have to.”

Donatello took it as a challenge and gained his composure, releasing all the stress on his muscles. “After your last breakdown, I think I know what to do now.” The genius stood up, and sat back down next to Leo, where Mikey was sitting. He softly pulled Leo’s head to lean on his shoulder and stroked his head. “What’s on your mind?”

A single tear fell down, but Leo quickly wiped it and scooted closer to Donnie. “You’re not gonna ask me about how I feel?”

“I’m not good with that, so I’m asking about what your thoughts are.”

“I’m thinking about you.”

“Mhm? Tell me about it.”

After a sniffle, the red slider hummed in thought. “I think about how you’re going to abandon me.”

“And what thought process that caused you to think that?” With a raised eyebrow, Donnie asked again. His hand stopped petting Leo and settled on his shoulder instead.

“You wouldn’t want a broken omega to be your mate, wouldn’t you?”

“I told you, you’re not a defect nor broken.” The reassurance in Donnie's voice was clear, yet Leo couldn't quite believe it.

“Then, what am I?” 

“You’re Leonardo.”

A chuckle escaped Leo’s lips as he ran a hand through his face to relinquish the tension he’s had since earlier. “That’s not what I meant.” 

Donnie knew for damn well that it wasn’t what Leo meant. “You’re not less of yourself just because you can’t fulfill the traditional role of omegas,” he calmly explained, pulling Leo’s body tighter to his. “I personally do not give a shit if you can create a bundle of cells in your body or not.” He bit his lip, afraid that what he just said was insensitive, so he continued. “I like you either way.”

“You like me?” Leo released himself from Don’s clutch, turning his body to meet the genius’ eyes with hopeful gaze. 

Don was taken aback, averting his gaze. “Of course, I like every single one of my family.” 

“Oh.” It’s a familial kind of like, of course it is. Leo tried to remove the last bit of hope he had inside of him, fully knowing that Donnie wouldn’t ever return the feelings he had. His eyes drooped down to the ground. “I like you too.” Before Donnie could answer, he opened his mouth again impulsively, “Not in a family way. But I guess you already know that.”

After a few beats of silence, Leo looked up, finding Don with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, lips parting and closing a few times. Why is he surprised, again? After the kisses they shared in the past, Leo was sure that he’d let his feelings slip out through those exchanges, with his soft touches and willingness to melt into Donnie’s kisses. He thought that he was being obvious, but he guessed that Donnie was denser than he originally thought, especially since he’s unbelievably bad at feelings.

“You, what?” Donnie dumbfoundedly asked.

“You don’t know?”

“How would I know?”

Leo grunted in frustration, placing his hand on the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t have asked you to fuck me that night if I don’t like you.”

“So, you liked all of those people, then?” Multiple names showed up in his mind as Don asked that, remembering the amount of people Leo has had one time sex with. It wasn’t so many that he’d lost count, but it was more than the amount of people that Donnie has ever hooked up with.

“I only did it with them because you wouldn’t do it with me!” His breath quickened, the urge to release his frustration peaking. “I’m so fucking tired of pretending Don, I don’t want mere kisses, I want you. I want what Mikey and Raph has, the commitment, the certainty between them, not just kisses to shut each other up. Not just because hormones told us to kiss.”

The he goes again, backing up into his dome of isolation to detach himself from Leo, putting on a neutral expression. “I don’t know, Leo, it- it seems unnecessary.”

“Donnie, please?” He was starting to get desperate, clinging onto the alpha like there was no other person in this world better than him. “Do you want me? Just, please, at least answer that.” His voice cracked, the thought of Donatello leaving him coming back. 

“Maybe I do,” then another thought came into Don’s mind. “Maybe I don’t.” He could feel Leo’s stare of disappointment weighing him even when he was staring at the floor. He knew he wanted Leo, but commitments are scary. The trauma of seeing his parents destroy their own marriage hasn’t left him yet, and he wasn’t sure if it’d ever leave his mind. 

What if Leo was right, and he’d run off to find another person like his dad? They are complex creatures after all, even he himself wouldn’t know what would happen in the future if they became mates. He could hurt Leo, hurt his family, people close to him, and even hurt himself. He simply doesn’t have enough information to determine whether being with Leo is good or not. Well, he knew Leo was good, he was the best at everything, undoubtedly the perfect mate, but even the perfect mate wouldn’t be able to build a perfect relationship with someone like Donatello.

A soft chuckle escaped Leo’s lips; it contained no humor whatsoever. It was a dry, sad, laugh. “I knew it.” Don finally had the courage to look up again, finding the red slider’s once glistening eyes empty. “This is it?” 

“What is it?” Playing dumb was Donnie’s favorite game, and Leo hated it.

The omega scoffed, “the- the relationship we had, whatever it is. It’s over?”

Donnie was supposed to be glad that he wanted to end their very confusing relationship, but somehow, he sensed a tingling, familiar puddle of anxiety at the bottom of his stomach. He swallowed thickly, trying to let his voice out, “Do you want to?” Silence stretched long between them, the lingering sense of guilt only building up bigger in Donnie’s chest. Leo looked like he was deep in thought, his expression almost blank, unpredictable. Donnie decided to let another word in, trying to soften his voice, because it always seemed to soothe Leo down in the past. “Just because I don’t want to be with you romantically, doesn’t mean that I’ll ever abandon you.”

This seemed to catch Leo’s interest from the way his eyes slithered up to meet Don’s. His lips stretched into a thin line, “you’re a coward,” he deadpanned, eyes straight, tone humorless. He wasn’t joking or teasing unlike he usually does, it was just simply, a statement he made about Donatello.

Obviously offended, Don raised his eyebrow as he straightened his posture, matching the energy Leo was giving him. “Care to elaborate?”

“Don’t need to.” The once empty expression turned into a twisted mockery. “You know why.” 

The fact that Donnie knew exactly what his blue banded brother meant caused anger to rise from deep within his chest. Leo was good at connecting dots, finding conclusions where there’s supposed to be none, bringing up crazy ideas and then turning them into something logical. Just now, he was reading Donnie’s mind, knowing exactly about why he rejected him, trying to play mind games with him. And he absolutely, utterly, hated of being read by someone undoubtedly less intelligent than him, full offense towards Leo. 

“No, I do not.” He spat out, rage lacing his calm tone. Despite getting his pride hurt, Don stayed calm and collected, but made sure to let Leo know that he wasn’t in the mood for any of his games and jokes. 

Leo laughed dryly, “Of course you’re denying it!” The laugh he lets out almost sounded psychotic, like he finally snapped. “Why would the high and mighty Donatello be honest about his own feelings?”

“Not this again.” 

“Yes, this again.” Leonardo parroted in a sardonic tone, standing up to tower over the purple banded turtle in front of him. It wasn’t unusual that he’d try to seem more authoritative by standing up and trying to look menacing, but what’s unusual was that he actually did look menacing, and it caused a shift of mood. The tension got thicker as Leo’s chest heaved up and down, seemingly trying to keep his anger to himself. “When we first came here, I thought you really changed, I thought you finally trusted me. But you just reverted back, like nothing ever happened.”

Still sitting down, the genius leaned back to his chair, trying to let Leo know that he wasn’t intimidated by his ridiculous action. He relaxed his whole body, which the other turtle very well noticed and responded by an eye-roll. “It was a normal response when you’re faced with trauma. Doesn’t mean anything deep, really.” He pushed his glasses and looked up through the small gap between the frame and his forehead. “I appreciate your help to stabilize my emotions though, you handled it very well. Maybe you should take a psychology major?”

The anger in Donnie’s eyes is gone, reduced to nothingness. Once again, the turtle managed to suppress his emotions, and once again, Leo looked down at him in disbelief. “I’m not your therapist, Don. I wasn’t trying to ‘stabilize your emotions’” he made air quotes. “I did it because I understood you, because I love you, and because I know you needed someone.” Those words triggered a lump to form in Donnie’s throat. “Stop acting and talking in formal speech, it’s disgusting.”

“I’m merely being the adult here,” He responded way too quickly. “It’s true, breakdowns happen, it’s natural, nothing to be ashamed of, but I do not, I repeat,” Don points a finger, “I _do not_ owe you my emotional vulnerability just because you helped me through a breakdown.” The emphasis on his words was too over the top, showing too much of his emotions, so he regulated his breathing again.

“Of course, you don’t! You don’t owe me shit, Don! I comforted you because I wanted to, not because I had a secret scheme to make you open up to me.” Blood rushed to his head, his cheeks getting redder and redder. “I just thought that _at the very least least_ you’d be a decent enough of a person to let people know how you feel, like normal living beings.” 

“You said it yourself, Nardo, I don’t owe you shit,” Don spat, clicking his tongue in distaste. “I chose to keep my emotions to certain levels, respect my choice.”

The anger in Leo never seemed to die down as he desperately tried to calm himself down. His nostrils flared, his breathing getting faster and faster. Looking at Donnie was painful, rage inducing, so he looked away, walking to the glass panels and watch the calm water of their swimming pool while his feet dragged him back and forth restlessly. “I’m honestly so incredibly tired of you, of everything.” Without looking back, he stated sternly, voice trembling.

“Good to know I’m not the only one.” Looking at Leo frustratedly pace back and forth felt satisfying to him, victorious on making him snap. It was a twisted thought, and he probably went too far, but he felt like it was necessary to humble the red slider after he tried to read his mind. Once again, his self-restraint had brought him into triumph. “Now if you’ll excuse me, you can continue your childish banter with someone else. I’m too old to do that with you.” With a last glance at Leo, he stood up, ready to leave.

“Donnie, stop,” called the other out, finally looking at the alpha again.

Donatello paused his stride, looking over his shoulder to meet Leo’s fiery gaze. “The conversation is over.” 

“Not until I say so,” hissed Leo. 

The long repressed alpha instinct had suddenly rise up, the inhibitor no longer restraining Don’s aggressive nature when he heard the demand in the omega’s voice. His superiority complex added to it, causing him to turn back and face Leo. Who does he think he is? He’s an omega, he wasn’t supposed to talk back to an alpha. He was supposed to be submissive, obedient. There he was, thinking that Leo would suddenly stop acting bratty once he presented as an omega, but it turns out he was wrong. The mutations in his genes might have played a part in that, he made a mental note to re-study his reports later.

Forget about the report for now. 

“Or what?” He took a step forward as Leo mimicked him, also taking a step closer. “Or what, Leonardo?”

For a split second, Donnie saw something unusual with Leo’s pupils. Were his pupils dilating or was that just his imaginations, he couldn’t tell. “You’re underestimating me.”

“I am.” Don flatly retorted. “Know your place.”

“Because I’m an omega?” Steadily, Leo’s voice raised. “You want to see what I can do to you?”

“Please, indulge me.” 

Leo was at his limit, teeth bared and fists clenched in anger. It triggered a sense of danger inside of Don, but he only stiffly smirked at Leo’s expression. 

The red slider looked into Donnie’s eyes for a solid minute as his breath slowed down. He finally regained composure, but the anger was still there. “You’re going to regret this.” 

With a scoff, Donnie turned away again, “Thought so.”

Then suddenly, Leo took his wrist and pulled so hard that he almost stumbled on his own feet. He looked back and glared, until he saw slits in Leo’s eyes. His eyes widened as the blue banded turtle took his other wrist to push him face first into the wall. There was a loud thud where Leo’s knees slam against the wall in between Don’s legs, pinning him in place. He had his wrists locked behind his back, held by Leo’s abnormally intense strength and trapped between his shell and Leo’s plastron. The omega had put his whole weight on him and he couldn’t move a finger.

Overtaken by the unusual strength, Don stopped struggling. “Leo, what the fuck?”

Leo didn’t answer, pushing him harder to the point that he had to squeal out a breath out of his lungs. He felt Leo’s snout flush against his neck and his shoulder as warmth rushed up to his cheeks. The way Leo looked at him earlier was terrifying, he seemed like an alpha in rut, and his strength was ridiculous, but it wasn’t the time to analyze his behavior. First thing first, he needed to get out of Leo’s human cage.

“Let me go!” he cursed as he tried to wiggle out from Leo.

Again, no answer came, just Leonardo smelling him up and down his neck. Fuck, he couldn’t deny that it made desire rise up, but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with their strange kissing sessions. Besides, they already agreed, although not verbally, that their weird relationship is over. He needed time for himself, but his body said otherwise as heat pooled inside the pit of his stomach. He prevented a whine from escaping his mouth with his whole strength.

He shuddered when Leo’s teeth graze over the muscle between his shoulder and neck, hot breath against his flushed skin. Leo proceeded to run his tongue across his naked skin, feeling the soft pulse under the green tissue. Instantly, Don’s knees went weak, the only thing supporting his body was Leo’s restraint. He cursed multiple times, flipping off the built-up arousal Leo caused him, but it didn’t seem to work as he only became more aroused overtime. 

Again, Leonardo bared his teeth by Don’s flesh, but this time, he bit down, hard.

Donatello cried out a loud, high-pitched yelp as he felt Leo’s teeth sink into his shoulder, rupturing the skin and breaking blood vessels. His eyes rolled back into his skull when the rush of pain and arousal mix, clouding his vision. His skin crawled once he felt blood trickle down from the open skin, crimson staining his hoodie. After a few seconds, Leo finally released his bite, opening his mouth to lick on the wound as Don hissed at the pain, but he didn’t seem to care, continuing to lap his tongue on the red, angry wound carefully. He cleaned the blood just like how an alpha would clean it after they mark their mate, licking every single drop of blood neatly until it wasn’t bleeding as much.

Due to the pain and shock, Donnie felt his head spin, breathing ragged. He blinked a few times, ecstasy whirling in his head like a bliss. It wasn’t long until Donnie realized what just happened. He just got marked. An alpha, marked by an omega. 

A rush of fury caused him to gain strength as he released his hand from Leo’s grip, punching the other and sending him across the room. Finally freed, he placed his hand on the open wound, firmly pressing his palm against the teeth shaped cuts on his shoulder. The pain tripled, but he ignored it, looking at the omega in front of him with disgust. Never once had he ever been this angry towards another person before, and he wouldn’t have guessed that the first person to make him so mad would be Leonardo. He growled, approaching Leo who winced in pain on the ground.

The blue banded turtle struggled to sit up, and when he looked up the slits in his eyes disappeared, the fury replaced with guilt. He looked up at Donatello with glossy eyes, tears threatening to pour down as he supported himself up with his elbows. His lips trembled as his eyes settled on the wound blocked by Don’s hand. He looked terrified, pushing himself backwards on the ground as Don loomed towards him.

“WHY DID YOU DO THIS?” Donnie yelled, probably the loudest that he’s ever yelled.

“I’m- I, I didn’t—” He swallowed, “I didn’t know why I did it, Donnie, I’m sorry.”

The urge to scream was so big that Donnie had to clamp down on his own wound to suppress it. There was no reason to get angry, it wouldn’t take back the fact that he just got marked by Leo. He’ll only be wasting his energy. His eyes darkened, looking at Leo like he’s the most repulsive creature he’s ever seen. “I fucking hate you.” He turned away, walking to the stairs.

“Donnie, I’m sorry I swear,” Leo tried to get on his feet, stumbling for a few times until finally he managed to tug on Donnie’s hoodie. “Please, I didn’t mean to do that, I suddenly just...”

Donnie quickly slapped his hand away with a last glance over his shoulder. “You’re disgusting.”

Leo’s heart fell.

“I’m sorry.” The turtle touched his hand, feeling the sting from Don’s slap. The pain was nothing compared to the ache inside his chest.

“Don’t expect anything from me anymore.” And with that, Leo was left alone.

There's no going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot twist(?)  
> Might edit later, this chapter feels emotionless


End file.
